Record pollen counts continue in 2023 in Atlanta; could it get worse?
The 2023 pollen season has already delivered multiple records, and we continue to see record levels of pollen this April. Atlanta had the most "high" counts in the month of February, the earliest Extreme High range count, and the earliest date the count exceeded the 3,000 mark. Now, we are adding to the record books the latest date that the pollen count exceeded 3,000.
Other possible records this season could be -- latest Extremely High range count on record was in 2014 on April 26 with a count of 1527; Atlanta has never recorded an Extremely High count in the month of May; and maybe we approach the highest pollen count in the month of April.
Our pollen season got off to a record start due to the second-warmest February on record with an average temperature of 57.1 degrees. What is interesting about this fact and the correlation to the pollen season is that the warmest February on record happened in 2018 and the previous record for the latest 3,000 mark was on April 19, 2018 (3,343).
You can look at dozens of different elements to explain why our pollen count has been filled with highs and lows, but the biggest impacts were the warm and dry February, and then the freezing temperatures from March 18-21. Those freezing temperatures did a tremendous amount of damage to new buds, plus brought the growing season to an abrupt halt. We had nearly a two-week break between Extremely High counts, but since Sunday, we have been dry and unseasonably warm which is the perfect recipe for pollen counts to exponentially rise.
We went from pollen counts near 100 to over 1,000 in just two days. Rain chances will return late Friday into Saturday followed by cooler temperatures, that should reduce the pollen in the air and conclude the extremely high counts for the season. Statistically, pollen season unusually starts to subside by mid-April, but a select group can have allergies linger through Memorial Day or year-round.
At these levels, patients with allergies to tree pollens will experience symptomes. The main tree pollen contributors today are mulberry, pine, hickory, oak and sedges, according to the National Allergy Bureau.