Photo by Scott Nodine of photos.com By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
Mar 20, 2012; 11:57 AM ET
In addition to the unusually high temperatures across the nation, pollen counts have also been through the roof, hitting record highs in some areas.
Atlanta, Ga., measured record pollen levels on Monday with 8,164 particles of pollen per cubic meter of air. This count was more than 35 percent higher than the previous record of 6,013 set on April 12, 1999, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic has labeled this count to be in the extremely high range.
So what's causing the spike?
"Well, the current warm spell probably isn't so much to blame. Certainly it is having an impact, but I think the mild winter is as much to blame. When it starts hitting the 60s and 70s regularly as it did in February, you start to get the trees out of their dormant state and the flowers blooming," AccuWeather Meteorologist Frank Strait said.
The most prevalent pollens on Monday were oak, pine, mulberry, sycamore, birch and sweet gum.
"A small part of the high pollen may also be attributed to people getting an early start to their spring gardens and flower beds thanks to the unseasonably mild weather," Strait said.
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