John Wheeler: Our weather is getting more humid from climate ... - INFORUM

John Wheeler: Our weather is getting more humid from climate change, but also from corn and beans - InForum | Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo news, weather and sports

John Wheeler: Our weather is getting more humid from climate change, but also from corn and beans

Evapotranspiration processes within green plants add humidity to the air and fields of beans and corn are more effective than native prairie grasses.

FARGO — Virtually since the end of the last glaciation 12,000 years ago, the weather has managed to get humid here in the Northern Plains at least a few days each summer. Much of the humidity in our air in summer is imported from the Gulf of Mexico. As the oceans have warmed in recent decades, humidity has increased. So, too, has the atmosphere's ability to contain water in vapor form.

However, robust crops of corn and soybeans throughout the Midwest can add a little more sweat to the mix, especially during July and August. Evapotranspiration processes within green plants add humidity to the air, and fields of beans and corn are more effective than native prairie grasses. The more robust the beans are, the more humidity they produce. At our most humid, the summer air can be a few degrees of dew point higher than in Florida. Climate change is adding humidity to our air, but corn and beans are adding a little more.

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