Late winter pollen heading towards spring

With warmer temperatures slipping their way into Mid-Missouri, many people start to look forward to spring. With spring, comes an increase in the pollen in the atmosphere.

The start of February marks a start to the allergy season for many people. The two primary allergens right now are due to increased tree pollen across the region. Tree pollen usually sees its highest levels in late winter into mid-spring. Grass pollen tends to see an increase late spring inot the summer months before weed pollen increases into the fall months.

Pine tree and Cedar tree pollen is at increased levels currently. Typically, Pine sees its peak pollen out put from the months of February through June while Cedar spikes in December through June.

Conditions that favor an increase in pollen levels can at times rely on more daily conditions beyond just what season we are in. High wind days leads to an increase in how much pollen can become mixed into the environment. The timing of the day is also an important factor in pollen levels. Typically, pollen levels increase in the early morning hours. This means that on windy mornings, you might be sneezing a little more.