KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Are your allergies starting to flare up? Do you have that sniffle or constant tickle? Am I starting to sound like an infomercial yet... Well despite the cooler temperatures in the 10-day, it seems spring has sprung in Kansas City.
This is one repercussion of having a warm and very wet winter. We've got an early green up and lots of moisture to aid in the process. I mean to put it simply, stuff wants to grow when the sun comes out.
We are just 20 days away from Spring! In the meteorological world spring has sprung. This is the 1st day of meteorological spring. It was an odd winter for sure as we had enough precipitation to see 60" of snow. Instead we received 8.3" of snow.@kshb41 pic.twitter.com/KHoiP13vjT
— Jeff Penner (@JeffPennerKSHB) March 1, 2023
March 1 means we are kicking off Meteorological Spring and so climatologically speaking winter is over. So where did we end up? Well... it was warm & wet... just not very snowy. KC had it's 12th warmest winter with rain coming in 142% of average & snow 56% of average. @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/eQ1zzIspuc
— ☀️ Cassie Wilson (@CassieKSHB) March 1, 2023
In the Kansas City area we can get a pollen count from Children's Mercy, where they have a scientific instruments that measure different pollen species and their levels: You can also use sites like pollen.com to cast a wider net and get a big picture perspective. But if you don't want to comb through the data, our weather team will do it for you.
Warm temperatures+ wet weather=pollen!
— Wes Peery (@WesWeather) March 3, 2023
The pollen forecast for the weekend calls for increasing tree pollen levels #mowx #kswx #kcwx pic.twitter.com/I07UGcS4J4
Right now the biggest factors to your sneeze, itch, tickle or cough is tree pollen. While grasses are starting to come up too, it will be a few more weeks before they peak. The cold weather this weekend should help ease pollen concerns for a short period of time though.
The pollen count should be a little higher today but looks like the increase will be brief thanks to cold air coming Thursday.#mowx #kswx #kcwx pic.twitter.com/mKU5INp3dG
— Wes Peery (@WesWeather) March 15, 2023
Climate change is bringing an earlier, longer growing season for plants — and making it worse for millions of Americans including us right here in the Kansas City area.
Some cities across the US are seeing a big impact from climate change when it comes to an expanding allergy season. Here in Kansas City, our we are now averaging two more non-freezing days a winter. While our climate impact may seem smaller than others it's still a tiny piece of the puzzle. The bigger piece of the puzzle is just how the warm and wet winter has been and that is really driving this seasons allergy onset.
You can read Climate Centrals' full allergy pollen and mold report here.
