Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

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Get ready for yet another extreme weather phenomenon in Minnesota this weekend — corn sweat. 

 about how evapotranspiration from the sea of corn across southern Minnesota and Iowa can modify our air mass through higher dew points. 

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reports U.S. farmers planted 91.7 million acres of corn in 2019. That’s about 69-million football fields.

Corn plants efficiently suck moisture from soils and evaporate it into the air. That can raise dew points above cornfields by 1 to 5 degrees. 

A few forecast models crank out dew points above 80 degrees Saturday afternoon across southern Minnesota. Most of that is due to a tropical air mass from the Gulf of Mexico. But evapotranspiration from the sea of corn will likely add a few degrees dew point (and heat index) values Saturday.

NOAA’s NAM model cranks out potential heat index values over 110 degrees across southern Minnesota Saturday afternoon.

Could Saturday bring the highest heat index values of summer to some Minnesota locations? Stay tuned.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Corn sweat may boost dew points across Minnesota Saturday.

'Corn sweat' may help boost dew points to 80 degrees Saturday

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