Corn sweat is exactly what it sounds like: moisture given off by corn. With large swaths of corn fields in the Midwest and even into Michigan, the amount of moisture in the air increases on hotter days.

It is “corn sweat” season. The biggest U.S. crop does influence our weather here in Michigan and across the Midwest. All plants drink up moisture from the soil and then breathe some of it out in a process called transpiration. The transpiration puts water vapor in the air and increases the humidity.

The process is known as evapotranspiration, which is how plants, including corn, release water vapor into the atmosphere.