Sneeze Meter: Extreme times among the pines

Tree pollen was at the "extreme" level Tuesday's official  count, with pines accounting for  over 90 percent of the volume.

The Asthma Center's Dr. Donald J. Dvorin, the region's official pollen counter for the National Allergy Bureau, said the pine pollen count was the highest it has been in four years.

Pines are particularly prevalent in the Philadelphia region, according to Dvorin's colleague Marc Goldstein.

The Tuesday sampling found that about 1,300 pollen grains had passed through a cubic meter of air during the previous 24 hours; pine was responsible for 1,200 of those grains.

Pine-pollen concentrations were 60 percent higher than they were Friday. The surge likely was tied to the late-month warm-up.

Nature was waging a three-pronged assault on allergy sufferers, with grasses and mold spores joining the torment derby.

Today's pollen report:

Trees: Extreme; severe symptoms

Grass: High; moderate to severe symptoms

Ragweed: Not seen

Other weeds: Moderate; moderate symptoms

Mold spores: Extreme; severe symptoms.

For more information, see the Asthma Center site.

http://www.asthmacenter.com/local-pollen-count-record-pine-pollen/