Thursday Rains Good for Lawns

Today’s Pollen Update

Thursday’s pollen levels actually reached their peak after midnight in the warm and breezy conditions of a March night. That meant pollen counts in the 2-4 hundred grain per cubic centimeter range. Since 100 is high, chances are good you started this morning off with a bit of a drippy nose.

But Thursday’s rains have acted like a scrub brush cleansing the air of the night pollen, so levels have tailed off markedly during the daylight hours, where it rained hard.

More rain is in the forecast on Friday, but in shower form. That implies a window for new pollination tonight and in the morning. Add it up and tree pollen levels won’t be outrageous on Friday, but should hover just under the 100 grain threshold, high enough for a chronic tree pollen sufferer to take an antihistamine before he/she goes to bed tonight.

Here’s a neat website that addresses hay fever (you and I know that’s a misnomer since neither hay or fever is involved) thru the personal experiences of LPGA golfer Jill McGill. Jill struggles with grass pollen in spring-summer while on tour. I hope to interview Jill for a web piece here at wsaz.com later this “hay fever” season!

www.challengeyourcourse.com

Today’s Rains

John Marra said it best at noon. Rains in spring are good for gardens and lawns. John added that “the best time to reseed lawns is fall, but spring is second best.”

For a few hours, a flood watch was issued by my colleagues from the NWS, but only some nuisance high water was realized. The risk of flooding has ended for the night.

The WSAZ First Warning Weather team is predicting more rain on Friday, so brown bag lunches at Central Park in Ashland, along Plum Street in Parkersburg and at City Park in Gallipolis are in jeopardy.

I am off to the Mason County Armory where this evening at 6:30 I will be speaking as part of the Outdoor Youth Expo. My talk tonight focuses on “stewardship” as we are all stewards of the planet Earth!