SAN ANTONIO — It's everywhere you go these days – brown, crunchy "catkins" are on your windshield, on the ground and blowing off oak trees. And today, the oak count has broken a record set 26 years ago in San Antonio.
According to KENS 5 pollen expert Shannon Syring, the oak count for Sunday measured at 40,500, which is the highest count she's seen since she started collecting data. She said previously, the highest it reached was 40,000 on April 4, 2010 and before that it was 42,000 in the last century on April 2, 1995.
Syring said the lack of precipitation is no doubt having an effect on the high counts lately.
"Also we haven’t had much rain this season, so counts haven’t been reduced by that," she told KENS 5. "I was a little surprised. I did think maybe the big freeze would stunt the oak pollination season, but obviously not. It did delay the whole season I think about 7-10 days, but that’s about it."
The good news though, for allergy sufferers, is oak season tends to end around mid-April.
Plus, in other nature-related news, there's an outdoor event involving plants that shouldn't make anyone sneeze, hopefully. That way you can be all smiles when taking selfies as you check out a huge array of sunflowers.
A 10-acre sunflower field has been planted at Traders Village, according to its website. The field will have various types of sunflowers, along with a maze to explore the fields. It's expected to open the entire month of May. To read more, click here.
