Ragweed Season Arrives

There are some things you can just count on just by looking at the calendar.

Let’s see on Christmas Eve, Santa comes down from the North Pole. On April 15th, Uncle Sam wants his money. On July 4th, we proudly fly the red, white and blue.

Pollen seasons are somewhat predictable by the calendar too, though a cold spring can lead to a late arriving tree pollen season just like an early warm spell in March can set us wheezing and sneezing in late winter.

I believe ragweed (and its pollen producing weed cousins) is the most predictable of the warm weather pollen seasons.

I mark my calendar for August 10th and every year (I have been here 21 now) the first traces of ragweed pollen infiltrate the air around the 10th (plus or minus a few days).

What incite the ragweed into pollinating is the longer nights of late summer and the cooler nights of the August. You see the ragweed plant has grown steadily all spring and summer. The giant ragweed can easily grow 6 feet tall. By then, ragweed has the nasty looking seedlings that hold the daily pollen sacs.

Levels start off benign for a week or so, causing only some drippy noses, itchy eyes and raspy throats. Then by late August (20th), those levels steadily increase as long as the weather stays dry.

From Labor Day weekend thru September 20 ragweed hits its stride with a September 10-15th peak. By late September and early October, ragweed has done its dirty work and begins to shut down its pollen producing factories.

Last year was an anomaly with hot dry weather prolonging the season all the way to Columbus Day. Since the first frost held off until almost November, 2007 had traces of ragweed all the way until Halloween.

I will begin my blogs for the next 5 weeks with a blurb on the expected ragweed counts and of course will keep you up to date at 5:58 PM most weekdays as Newschannel 3 at 6 begins.

I look for ragweed levels to be in the modest range this week, though the cool autumn air will make counts annoying for many ragweed sufferers.

Gesunheit!