Is Corn Sweat to Blame For Michigan’s Muggy Weather?

Oh, it's VERY real.

Never heard of "corn sweat"? You're not alone! It sounds like something absolutely ridiculous just like "snipe hunting" but I assure you corn sweat is very very real and could possibly be affecting humidity levels here in The Mitten.

Get our free mobile app

Don't Like the Weather? Wait 5 Minutes.

It's Michigan, you truly never know what you're going to get. I was just commenting to my sister that this time last year the sunflowers had only just started to bloom across West Michigan; this year August isn't even over yet and the sunflowers seem to be fading fast.

In this final week of August we're experiencing extreme heat indices. In fact, temperatures are so extreme that many school districts have cancelled classes altogether!

With the humidity also approaching extreme levels I can't help but wonder if corn sweat is to blame?

What Is Corn Sweat?

Your first instinct is probably correct: corn sweat is moisture that is released by mature stalks of corn.

I first learned the harsh realities of corn sweat when I moved out to Nebraska, the Cornhusker state. You'd never think of places like the heartland of the Midwest as being humid but trust me, they are, and corn sweat is partly to blame!

If our neighbors in Illinois are experiencing extreme humidity due to corn sweat and extreme temperatures, is that the cause of all this mugginess in Michigan too?

While meteorologist Jacob Dickey states there are 12 million acres of corn in Illinois the same cannot be said for The Mitten:

Michigan farmers harvest 297 million bushels of corn from 2.3 million acres of farmland. An acre is about the size of a football field. - Michigan Ag. Council

Perhaps a miniscule percentage is to be blamed on the corn, but if I had to fathom a guess I'd say it has more to do with climate change and the Great Lakes than 2.3 million acres of corn.