AUSTIN, Texas — It's the time of the year that all allergy sufferers dread. On the final day of 2023, mountain cedar levels surged to the highest point so far this season. The 24-hour rolling average cedar count had eclipsed 18,000 grains per cubic meter on Sunday afternoon. This is over 16 times more cedar in the air than at the previous highest point this season back on Dec. 19.
KVUE keeps track of the pollen levels hourly using a personal allergy sensor on the roof of the station. You can always check in on the pollen levels online.
We can also show you what things are looking like on the microscope slide. Below is a snapshot of the individual grains of cedar pollen which are highlighted in the green boxes.
A breezy south-southwest wind gusted over 20 miles per hour through much of Sunday afternoon, and many viewers sent in photos and videos of the cedar pollen being lifted from the trees.
This is a familiar sight for Central Texans, but not one that anybody looks forward to.
Unfortunately, cedar levels remain very high for New Year's Day. Monday morning's allergy count revealed cedar levels at 15,354 gr/m3.
In addition to the cedar, we are tracking high levels of mold and alternaria. A dry, breezy cold front moved through overnight switching the wind direction to the north-northwest. Wind gusts around 20 miles per hour will once again be possible.
These dry, breezy cold fronts this time of the year sweep up the pollen being released from the trees. The trees that produce mountain cedar pollen are actually Juniper trees, which are mainly found across the Hill Country.
Cedar season will peak in January, so plan on more rough allergy days through the next several weeks. Typically, cedar levels begin to diminish through the first half of February.
One thing that can help temporarily lower our cedar levels is some rain, and thankfully we have multiple rounds of beneficial rain in the forecast through the first week of 2024.
The KVUE Weather Team will keep you updated all through the cedar season.
In the meantime, the extended forecast can be found below:
