NC’s yellow pollen is gone, so why am I still sneezing? What’s likely to blame
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Pine pollen in North Carolina peaked in late March and tapered off in April.
- Invisible hardwood tree pollen can continue to cause symptoms and pollinate into June.
- Raleigh sampler listed oak, sycamore, morus, pine, ash and cottonwood as predominant.
The yellow pine pollen that plagues North Carolina in early spring is finally on its way out, but that doesn’t necessarily spell relief for people with allergies.
It’s pine pollen, like from North Carolina’s loblolly pine, that produces the yellow pollen that coats the state in a dusty, yellow veil. But it’s not often the culprit for seasonal allergies.
Pine pollen peaked in late March, and quickly began tapering off in April, Robert Bardon (associate dean for Extension in the North Carolina State University’s College of Natural Resources) previously told The News & Observer.
Why do I still have allergies?
It’s often the invisible tree pollen causing watery eyes and sneezing, and not the larger yellow pollen people can see coating their cars and homes.
Hardwood trees can continue to pollinate into June, Bardon said.
As North Carolina moves into summer people, grass and weed pollen will rise and then ragweed pollen begins in the fall, said Shawn Taylor, public information officer for the state’s Quality’s Division of Air Quality, in a previous interview.
Raleigh and Winston-Salem rank among the 20 worst places to live in the country for people who have allergies, The N&O previously reported.
Which trees cause allergy symptoms?
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality operates a pollen sampler in Raleigh, the only public pollen sampler in the state. It produces a daily report rating the severity of pollen from grasses, trees and weeds, and it provides the common types of allergens found in the daily sample.
Reports from the week of Thursday, April 16, show oak, sycamore, morus, pine, ash, cottonwood as the predominant tree pollen collected. The severity level of tree pollen has been “high” or “very high” for every sampled day since March 16 except for one “moderate” day.
The most common trees known to cause allergies, according to the Farmers Almanac, are:
- Alder
- Ash
- Aspen
- Beech
- Birch
- Boxelder
- Cedar, which releases pollen in the fall,
- Cottonwood
- Elm
- Hickory
- Mountain elder
- Mulberry
- Red Maple
- Silver Maple
- Oak
- Pecan
- Sycamore
- Willow
- Walnut
