Kirksville, MO. and Ottumwa, IA. — It is getting to that time of year where trees and foliage matures, and everything is green.

Corn and other row crops are also maturing, waiting to be harvested in September and October.

The summer months always bring about warmer temperatures, but sometimes, the outside air feels really thick and the temperatures feel warmer than what they actually are.

The tri-state area has already seen this sort of thing usually on a mostly sunny day after rain the previous day.

However, this can also occur due to evapotranspiration from plants, trees, and row crops.

You may have heard of ‘corn sweat’. This term was created to describe the high humidity created by the evapotranspiration from corn.

Last year, an estimated 91.5 million acres of corn was planted in the united states.

A majority of it was planted in the Midwest in an area designated as the ‘corn belt’

Just one acre of that corn can produce up to 4,000 gallons of water vapor, and release it into the atmosphere.

As a result, the air in this region can experience a massive increase in the relative humidity,

Which can moderate the real temperatures.

But this can result in a massive increase in the heat index,

Making the temperatures feel hotter and the air feel more ‘tropical’, even in the nighttime.

This can even be show on dew point maps where pockets of higher dew points appear over areas where there are more crops.

An increase in evapotranspiration has also been linked to increased chances for rain, thunderstorms, and even severe weather.

So in short: Corn, plants, and other foliage can affect the temperature and precipitation chances.