Why are my allergies so bad? Warm, dry winter fueling season

All cities in Central Florida saw well above-normal temperatures for December, January and February

Pollen

ORLANDO, Fla. – Allergy season never really ends in Florida, but 2020 to date seems to be more intense.

Central Florida is in the thick of tree pollen season, but the weather of late could be making it worse. Weather, of course, is one of the main drivers behind pollen, especially the temperature.

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Meteorological winter -- the three-month period of December, January and February -- has just come to a close and all of Central Florida was above normal in the temperature department. Astronomical winter doesn’t end until the third week of March, but in the weather world, for clean record keeping, it ended February 29.

The major climate sites across Central Florida, Orlando, Daytona Beach, Sanford, Leesburg and Melbourne all finished in the top 10 when it comes to warmest winters on record. Orlando and Sanford finished as the 5th warmest and Leesburg as the second warmest. Leesburg data, however, only goes back to 1959.

Another major player when it comes to allergies is wind. The wind has been elevated quite a bit this season, helping to spread the pollen. Pollen levels are expected to remain high for the next week with more record warmth possible.


About the Author

Jonathan Kegges joined the News 6 team in June 2019 and now covers weather on TV and all digital platforms.

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