Throughout February, and as early as January 3, reports of an early 2006 allergy season related to warm weather were blending with reports of a lingering 2005 allergy season related to rain, drought, wind, or unseasonably warm temperature. (See our January 22 report at AllergyNursing.com.)

On February 27, Radio Iowa called this “one of Iowa’s warmest winters on record.” According to the report, “quite a few people are coming in to [a local] drug store with what appears to be cold or flu-like symptoms — but they’re actually spring allergies.”

February 14 — From the California Bay area, MercuryNews.com reported: “Area allergists are reporting a surge in business…”

February 11 — From Snora, CA, MyMotherLode.com reported: “The sun has been shining more than expected, bringing allergies with the warm weather…”

January 3 — From Corpus Christi, TX, KRISTV.com reported: “Our warm weather so far this winter has been bad news for allergy sufferers.”

See also our February 4, and February 8 reports from EyesApart.com

I have hay fever and other allergies and the best and clearest I have ever been was in Las Vegas in January. Go figure….. — Pat, Nevada

“There’s no such thing as an ‘asthma-free’ city,” says Mike Tringale, Director of Communications at Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. This is from a February 8, 2006, press release announcing the 2006 U.S. Asthma Capitals.

Topping the list are Scranton, PA, Richmond, VA, and Philadelphia, PA. Only one southern city, 4th ranked Atlanta, GA, made the top ten this year. You can check out the entire list of 100 Worst Cities for Asthma in 2006 from the AAFA website.

This is the third year AAFA has ranked cities for asthma. During the first two years, southern cities took the top three spots with the exception of third-ranked St. Louis, MO in 2005. St. Louis has consistently scored in the top ten all three years. In 2004, KY and TN topped the list, and last year (2005) Little Rock, AR (directly east of my western AR location) and St. Louis, MO (directly to my north) took the #2 and #3 spots. This year brought some surprises, as the North Central and North Eastern seaboard areas seem to dominate. See the 2004, 2005, and 2006 lists to see how your area fares.

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According to a news item from WALB-TV in Albany, Georgia, the warm winter season is making allergies worse in South Georgia. WALB-TV reports, “A warm winter means an early and severe allergy season.”

This unseasonably warm winter is setting the stage for a severe allergy season in many parts of the U.S. So when you evaluate a climate for the degree of allergies, keep in mind that in some areas they may be more severe this year than usual.

According to WALB-TV, local allergist Larry Smith warns, “This is only the tip of the iceberg. Pollen levels will increase even more so within the next few weeks.”

Read the entire WALB-TV news report here.

According to WMFY News 2 in Lexington, North Carolina, “sniffling, watery eyes, sneezing and coughing are symptoms you usually deal with in the springtime. But this unusually warm weather is causing early allergy problems for many people.”

Many areas of the US have experienced unseasonably warm weather all winter. For many, the allergy season never stopped. Now that spring is around the corner, some wonder if they have missed the usual winter relief altogether.