Why are my allergies so bad today?
Usually because today is warm, dry and breezy: the perfect setup for plants to release pollen and for the wind to carry it to you. Light rain knocks it down; a thunderstorm can do the opposite.
Pollen sticks to skin, hair and clothes; rinse off after.
Pollen in your nose and lungs sets off sneezing and stuffiness.
Show me why1 min
Pollen rides the air you breathe
Trees, grasses and weeds release pollen into the wind so it can reach other plants. A grain is often a few hundredths of a millimeter across, light enough to drift for miles. Breathe it in and your immune system can mistake it for an invader, which sets off the sneezing, itching and stuffiness of hay fever.
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The weather that turns it up
- Warm spells. Warmth tells plants it's time, so an early warm week can start the season early.
- Dry, breezy days. Dry pollen stays aloft longer, and wind spreads it far from where it grew.
- Light rain helps. Steady light rain washes pollen out of the air for a while.
- Thunderstorms can hurt. Storm winds sweep pollen up, and moisture can burst grains into much smaller fragments that reach deeper into the lungs. In Melbourne, Australia, one spring storm in November 2016 sent thousands of people to hospitals with sudden asthma.
- Humid spells feed mold and dust mites, a different set of allergy triggers.
Where today's pollen came from
Pollen travels with the air, so where your air has been matters as much as what's blooming on your street. Air Story's trail shows where today's air spent the last three days: air that crossed blooming farmland or forest brings their pollen along, while air straight off the ocean is usually cleaner.
Questions people ask
- What time of day is pollen worst?
- Many plants release pollen in the morning, and warm, breezy afternoons keep it in the air. Counts usually drop after a steady rain.
- Does rain make allergies better or worse?
- Light, steady rain usually helps by washing pollen out of the air. Thunderstorms can make symptoms worse by stirring pollen up and breaking it into smaller pieces.
- Why are my allergies worse when it's windy?
- Wind lifts pollen and carries it for miles, so you breathe pollen from plants far beyond your neighborhood.