2018 spring allergy forecast: Pollen levels to soar early in the Southeast; Mid-Atlantic to be spared harsh season
By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather staff writer
March 14, 2018, 7:58:33 AM EDT
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Spring allergies are already making a comeback in the United States, as grass and tree pollen work their way south to north across the East.
Allergy season started early across Florida and Georgia, where high and very high pollen counts are being recorded.
Pollen is likely to continue in these areas for much of spring with some high pollen days occurring now through April, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert.
“The highest pollen area is predicted over the Florida Panhandle into southern Georgia early in the season,” Reppert said.
The northward progression of these allergens will be slowed by several weeks, as wetter-than-normal weather grips the Carolinas and into Tennessee and Kentucky in March.
Delays to the allergy season are also likely across the Ohio River Valley, Alabama and Mississippi, as above-normal precipitation occurs and temperatures are slower to climb.
There is some good news in store for sufferers in the mid-Atlantic, where rainfall and temperatures are forecast to delay the growing season of pollen-producing plants.
“The pollen levels may take until April or even early May to really increase over parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey,” Reppert said.
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In early June, tree pollen will be coming to a peak over northern New York and into New England.
“This should combine with normal rainfall to make for some high pollen days, especially later in May,” Reppert said.
At the same time, tree pollen in much of the Southeast will be replaced by grass pollen.
This will also begin to dominate in the mid-Atlantic, where high levels will disturb allergy sufferers for a few days.
By June, grass pollen will be kept at bay by above-average rainfall, yielding relief for allergy sufferers from Indiana and Michigan into the mid-Atlantic, he said.
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