"Corn sweat" may exacerbate heat impacts in the Midwest, Plains this weekend.

Corn is a major influencer of summertime weather in parts of the Midwest and northern Plains, along a swath of the nation’s heartland aptly dubbed the Corn Belt. Corn, soybean and other crops release water into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration. This is a cooling mechanism for the plant akin to sweating in humans.

That moisture gets soaked up by the lower atmosphere, potentially bringing unbearable tropical humidity levels during the height of summer, along with hazardous heat index levels. The dynamic is going to be on full, uncomfortable display in the coming days as a heat wave roasts this region.

[What in the world is ‘corn sweat’?]

In the summertime, a single acre of corn can “sweat” about 4,000 gallons a day — enough to fill a typical residential swimming pool in less than a week. Hotter conditions favor even more evapotranspiration, the heat combining with corn-induced humidity to bring sultry conditions at times juicer than the soupiest air masses of South Florida.