According to recent reports the summer heat is causing corn to sweat in the field. Is it the corn’s profuse perspiration causing the issue or maybe the county fair is the party responsible?

More likely it’s just summer in early August. There are two options, hot and humid or hot and dry. Either way, the corn is still sweating, with each acre pumping up to 4,000 gallons of water into the air every day. Kansas’ 6.4 million acres of corn pumps out enough sweat each day to cover a football field in more than 15 miles of water.

Corn sweat doesn’t actually make the temperature rise, rather it makes hot summer days feel hotter by adding to the humidity in the air. In addition to evaporation, all plants release water through tiny pores in their leaves during a process called transpiration, or plant sweat.

August is the peak growing season for corn and other fall crops, and correspondingly the peak for humidity, especially with the rains portions of the state have received this summer. The extra moisture can turn a normal August afternoon into a “three-shirt day” where even light work outdoors requires changing shirts more than once.

I do have a small quibble with the National Weather Service over its recent change in the adjectives used to describe our hot, humid summers. In March, the agency substituted “extreme” for “excessive” for heat-related watches and warnings.

Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t consulted on the change, and I have no problem alerting folks about the dangers posed by intense summer weather. But I’m not convinced that classifying normal, expected bouts of summer heat as excessive or extreme are of any help. Everyone should be mindful of the toll working outdoors can take. Plenty of breaks in the shade and cold water are crucial to staying safe in the heat.

As the change from excessive to extreme indicates, adjectives are arbitrary, and neither one is as effective as the description used in explaining the meaning of an extreme heat watch or warning: dangerous heat is possible or happening.

Dangerous means the situation is serious, as the weather in Kansas often is (there’s a 161-degree swing between the hottest and coldest record temps in the state). It also works across a range of conditions from hot and cold to flash floods and severe thunderstorms. It’s an adjective that conveys the stakes of the weather, especially in summer for individuals most at risk of high temperatures like older adults, young children and those without access to cooling resources. It’s easy to poke fun at labeling typical summer weather as excessive or extreme. Call it dangerous and people are likely to actually pay attention.

While July is the hottest month, August is still the heart of summer where triple-digit readings on the thermometer are commonplace. Our electricity bills may be extreme, but that’s just summer.

The days are getting shorter and soon harvest will put an end to sweating corn. For now, it’s still summer. Do your best to stay cool and maybe pack an extra shirt or two if you’re doing anything outside. Afterall, it’s just another August in Kansas.