Why ‘corn sweat' will make this week's heat wave even worse

Fast Company

8 hours ago

Another crushing heat wave is hitting the United States this week. The so-called 'dog days of summer' are in full swing for much of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., as a heat dome over the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys gradually builds over the eastern U.S. later in the week, according to the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
One unlikely culprit for the high humidity, especially in the Midwest, is 'corn sweat.'
What is corn sweat?
'Corn sweat' is the term used to explain how corn, like other plants, excretes water vapor through its leaves via a process called evapotranspiration, which increases humidity in regions where corn is grown during the summer; namely, the Corn Belt, which stretches from North and South Dakota east to Ohio, including Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, according to The Washington Post.
Where is the heat wave?
Nearly 60 million Americans are under heat-related warnings, watches, and advisories this week with oppressive heat forecast across the Central Plains, Midwest, and deep South, according to the WPC.
What is the weather forecast this week?
Heat indices from the Central Plains to the Southeast are predicted to range between 100 and 110 degrees each day, with localized readings potentially reaching 115 degrees.
The National Weather Service's HeatRisk, which ranks heat-related risks on a map, forecasts its most extreme heat level for the Deep South and lower Mississippi Valley on Tuesday, with a major heat risk across the Midwest through Wednesday.
Extreme heat warnings are also in place for parts of the Central Plains and lower to mid-Mississippi Valley, along with extreme heat watches across the Midwest, including the majority of the Chicago area. Meanwhile, heat advisories encompass much of the Deep South and northern Florida.
That ' dangerous, long lasting heat ' is expected to persist the longest over the mid-Mississippi Valley and mid-South regions from Tuesday through Thursday, when the heat is expected to be the most intense and widespread, with heat waves that last multiple days in a row with little to no relief.
Meanwhile, temperatures into the upper 90s will be high enough to set some local daily records in the Southeast for late July.
As if that weren't enough, thunderstorms could also pose a flash flood threat in portions of the Southwest, Midwest, and Southeast, with severe storms likely in the Northern Plains and Midwest.
The Northeast, which should have comfortable temperatures in the 80s in the first half of the week, is forecast to hit 97 to 98 degrees on Friday, in a number of cities including Boston and New York.