‘Extreme’ amounts of pollen covering metro Atlanta

ATLANTA — In just the last 24 hours, metro Atlanta has gone from high to extreme levels of tree pollen in the air, according to Atlanta Allergy and Asthma.

Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Eboni Deon says the pollen season is starting a little less robust, but those with allergies have likely already grabbed some extra tissues.

“It’s a lot. It makes me sneeze. It’s crazy!,” Terrence Mays told Deon.

Mays says he’s noticed it a lot more recently and does his best to avoid it.

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Dr. Erinn Gardner, an allergist for Atlanta Allergy and Asthma, says it is a good idea to take a shower after being outdoors to get the excess pollen off of your skin and out of your hair.

Once you get back inside, Dr. Gardner says you need to keep the pollen out.

“It’s a good idea to keep the windows closed and the air conditioner on. That way pollen is not getting in your household,” she said.

Dr. Gardner says we may not have seen extremely high pollen counts like we did last year because of slightly cooler temperatures.

“The temperatures have been a little cooler over the past month, and that coupled with rain can actually decrease the pollen counts,” she added.

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When we see consistently warmer temperatures and less rain toward the end of March or the beginning of April, we’ll likely see pollen counts reach their most extreme numbers.

Tree pollen season typically runs from late February to June.

Different pollens stick around all year. If you’re not sure what’s causing your symptoms, you should be tested by an allergist.

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