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Cedar Fever: Why has mountain cedar been so bad recently?

The past week has brought a big spike in mountain cedar. So, what has caused it to be so bad?

SAN ANTONIO — Many South Texans have gone through the past few days dealing with itchy eyes, scratchy throats and sneezing.

The culprit, for many of us, is mountain cedar. So, what has caused mountain cedar to spike this past week?

It all starts with this being the typical time of year we see mountain cedar spike, but there are a few other factors that have caused the pollen to spike even higher.

Rainfall can typically knock pollen out of the air and the past few weeks have left us with drier conditions. The only time we had rain over the past week was from Wednesday night into Thursday morning and that led to a drop in our pollen counts for Thursday.

Credit: Andrew Wilson
Spike in cedar pollen over this past week.

After Thursday, we had big spikes in mountain cedar as wind picked up out of the north and northwest, which is where much of the mountain cedar trees are in our region.

Credit: Andrew Wilson
Spike in cedar pollen over this past week.

The wind blew the mountain cedar over South Texas, causing the pain for allergy sufferers.

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Cedar pollen on Monday this week was the highest we've had so far this season with counts more than 28,000.

Credit: Andrew Wilson
Spike in cedar pollen over this past week.

While the numbers were high for Monday, it is likely we will have even higher counts come in for Tuesday as wind picks up out of the northwest overnight into tomorrow with no rain expected to knock any of the pollen out of the air.

Credit: Andrew Wilson
Spike in cedar pollen over this past week.

As we move through the next few weeks, expect more of the same with spikes in mountain cedar when drier weather is in the region. This is mountain cedar season and if you are struggling now, it is best to get allergy medication to help you through the rest of the season.

Don't forget you can download the KENS 5 app for the latest news and weather information each day while you are on the go.

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