Midwest moisture: what is corn sweat?

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While the humidity is low in Central Ohio today, you're probably seeing stories on your news feed about corn sweat impacting the Midwest. So, what is corn sweat? As the corn reaches maturity in the mid to late summer, it releases moisture into the area.

This process is called transpiration. It all starts at the roots, where moisture from the soil is transported to the surface of the plant's leaves. That moisture is then released into the atmosphere as water vapor. Along with evaporation of soil moisture, it all adds up to the humidity to make it feel stickier outside. This whole process is called evapotranspiration.

According to some studies by the USDA, they suggest that an acre of corn can release about 3,500 to 5,000 gallons of water every 1 to 2 days.

With more than 3 million acres of corn planted in Ohio, that would mean at least 10.5 billion gallons of water are released each day.

That's enough water to fill up almost 16,000 Olympic-size swimming pools or fill up Buckeye Lake 47 times.

#CornSweat #Evapotranspiration #MidwestWeather #OhioCorn #HumidityExplained #WeatherScience #Agriculture #FarmFacts #OhioWeather


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