Why your seasonal allergies may be acting up this week

Happy Monday and welcome to another edition of Beyond The Forecast!

Depending on which kind of pollen affects your seasonal allergies, you may be experiencing a case of the sniffles or itchy eyes right now. That’s because ragweed pollen is hitting its peak in Virginia.

What is ragweed? Well, it’s a member of the daisy family with small, yellow-green flowers. A typical ragweed plant releases about a million grains of pollen per day and the grains can travel up to 400 miles on a windy day.

According to Virginia Ear Nose & Throat, fall is the season for ragweed pollen. It’s the main cause of hay fever along the East Coast and in the Midwest.

The typical peak of ragweed pollen? Mid-September until the first frost, which doesn’t typically occur until mid-October in our region.

If your allergies are susceptible to ragweed pollen, you’re likely to notice it this week as we have the pollen forecast in the medium-high to high category through Wednesday.

There’s a chance we could be cooler and wetter on Thursday, which would help bring pollen levels down.

Those who are more bothered by the tree pollens of spring or the grass pollens of summer won’t have as much to worry about in the coming days and weeks.

Switching gears to your forecast, it’s a hot, hazy and humid start to the new work week. I have a look at how close to records we’ll be for highs this afternoon in our daily forecast article.

You can always get specific forecast details for your zone, whether it’s the Roanoke Valley, Lynchburg area, the New River Valley or elsewhere around Southwest and Central Virginia, anytime at WSLS.com/weather. Know your zone!

In case you missed it, we’re posting great weather and science content on WSLS.com. Here are a few links from the past week to check out:

• NASA confirms Mars rover’s 1st rock sample grab, 40 to go
• Virginia Tech seismograph detects Tuesday night’s earthquake in Mexico
• Report: Solar could power 40% of US electricity by 2035
• Report: Climate change could move 200 million people by 2050

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— Justin McKee

Source: WSLS News 10