Rainy weather boosted the pollen count this fall in places like Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

But if you live in Cincinnati, Ohio, take heart! Here’s an excerpt from the August 27, 2006, issue of The Cincinnati Enquirer which quotes Anna Kelley, quality assurance and monitoring coordinator for the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services:

Ragweed pollen should be peaking about now….

[but] as far as ragweed goes, “we’re a little behind last year’s values, which is fine,” Kelley said.

See the entire Enquirer story here: Dry August eases allergy symptoms.

From California to Ontario, New York, and Florida, ragweed seems to have made it’s debut early and with a bumper crop this August.

Lansing, Michigan:
Worst summer for allergies in decades
“The pollen count is…the highest it’s been in fifty years…. Ragweed everywhere and no relief in sight.” [WLNS, Lansing]

Los Angeles, California
Bumper crop of ragweed kicks off allergy season
“Summer rains followed by hot, dry temperatures in many areas have produced a bumper crop of ragweed.” [NBC4, Los Angeles]

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
Break out of the mold
“A particularly bad year for mold spores and an accelerating ragweed season are giving them itchy eyes and runny noses.” [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Ontario, Canada
Achoo! Ragweed arrives early
“Ragweed has made her a prisoner in her own house…. ‘It was July 30 when it started and it hasn’t stopped.’” [Hamilton Spectator, Ontario Canada]

Washington, DC
Ragweed arrives early in district
“If you’re an allergy sufferer who is feeling a little off this morning in that allergy-related kind of way, you can thank ragweed season for arriving two weeks early.” [DCist, Washington, DC]

Little Rock, Arkansas
Heat, humidity fueling hay fever
“Doctors say an increase in pollen, ragweed, and mold is creating more cases of hay fever.” [Today’s THV, Little Rock, Arkansas]

Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Florida
Ragweed season starting up for allergy sufferers
“Ragweed season is upon us…. And this year, people may suffer more than ever.” [WTSB, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida]

New York City, NY
Ways to cope with a brutal allergy season
“Allergy sufferers, the early predictions are in and get ready for an especially brutal fall season.” [WABC-TV, New York]

What’s biggest fall allergen? If you said “Ragweed,” you’re right, but…

[August 17, 2006] Rockford Register Star, Rockford, Illinois, reports:
Right now is prime season for the dreaded ragweed, but Rockford pharmacist Raj Patel has been busier treating allergies of a different sort.

‘Bee-sting allergies are the biggest thing right now,’ said Patel….

‘About September, when it starts getting a little cooler, that’s when we see more people with (seasonal) allergies.’

See the entire Rockford Register Star article here:
Allergies: Culprits change, misery doesn’t