Pine pollen off to an unseasonably early start

Jacksonville, FL — It's some bad news for those of us that suffer from seasonal allergies-- Action News Jax Chief Meteorologist Mike Buresh warns that pine pollen seems to be getting off to an unseasonably early start.

Buresh says the warm winter we've been experiencing is to blame, as we've only had two recorded freezes at the Jacksonville International Airport. He says at this point in winter, we should had anywhere from about 6 to 8 freezes.

"And time is running out on a hard freeze that would really arrest the development of pine pollen over the next couple of weeks. So the anticipation is that we would continue to see increasing pine pollen from south to north across Northeast Florida, including metro Jacksonville within the next couple of weeks . I don't have a freeze in the forecast for at least the next 7 days," says Buresh.

He says he doesn't normally see the pine pollen start until the first week or two of February.

Buresh warns that oak pollen is next up, which is the one that's very difficult for some allergy sufferers, as it typically begins three to six weeks after the pine pollen.