Trees have been waiting for a day like this; allergy-sufferers dreading it
June temperatures, decent breezes, perfect for pollen flight; not so perfect for the allergic.
Tree pollen approached "extreme" levels with Tuesday's count, according to the Asthma Center.
The 24-hour tally from the Tuesday sample represented a seven-fold jump from Monday's count – from 148.1, to 950.
That's not surprising given that conditions the last two days have been ideal for a pollen harvest as trees go about the business of sowing the seeds of future generations.
Temperatures have reached 80 on both days, the atmosphere is generally dry, and for pollen the steady breezes are way better than SEPTA.
It's also not surprising that the Asthma Center has experienced a surge in complaints of runny noses and watery eyes as countless allergy sufferers have been caught in the crossfire.
What was unexpected, said Dr. Donald Dvorin, the center allergist who is the region's certified pollen counter for the National Allergy Bureau, was the early-season surge of oak and pine pollen.
The counts, taken atop a Center City building, represent the numbers of pollen grains that would pass through a refrigerator-size parcel during a 24-hour period.
Tuesday's count was just shy of the extreme level, 1,000.