By AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Jan. 16, 2021 2:22 PM EST
Winter allergies may not be a common occurrence for many across the U.S., but for residents of central Texas, cedar allergies this time of year are just like clockwork.
Cedar allergies -- or "cedar fever" -- are caused by the pollen released into the air in the winter by mountain cedar trees, according to Texas A&M. The most predominant mountain cedar species is the Ashe juniper tree.
Even people who are not typically susceptible to seasonal allergies may be impacted by cedar fever in central Texas due to the sheer quantity of cedar trees in the area.
“It is one of the few allergens that is produced in the winter… this time of year is when those cedar trees are releasing their pollen to help them produce the next generation of small juniper trees,” Jonathan Motsinger, Central Texas Operations Department Head at Texas A&M Forest Service, said.
According to Motsinger, male trees are the ones responsible for the pollen counts. They are golden-yellow and release pollen after a cold front, making the cedar fever season last through the winter.
Male cedar trees, which have a golden-yellow color, are the ones responsible for high pollen counts and cedar fever. (Photo/Bill Wadell)
Cedar allergies may arise each winter, but one factor in particular is complicating things for allergy sufferers this season -- the coronavirus pandemic.
Carolina Reyes, who works for AccuWeather, and her husband Alvaro Reyes live in San Antonio, Texas, and thought the pollen from cedar trees was behind some symptoms they were experiencing. It turns out that they both had contracted COVID-19 and Alvaro was also battling a case of the flu.
"It started with a sore throat, like a stuffy nose, just regular allergy symptoms," Alvaro said. “I told Carolina that I was sick but she’s like no, there’s mountain cedar, it's pretty high right now, you have allergies.”
Carolina Reyes, who works for AccuWeather, and her Husband Alvaro Reyes believed the symptoms they had were from cedar allergies. They ended up both having COVID-19 and Alvaro had the flu. (Photo/Bill Wadell).
Dr. Sheila Amar, a board certified allergist at the Allergy and Asthma Center of Georgetown, said allergy season can be difficult amid the pandemic as some symptoms of COVID-19 overlap with allergy symptoms.
According to The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, congestion, cough, fatigue, a sore throat or headache are just some of the symptoms of COVID-19 that can also align with seasonal allergy symptoms. Amar said some symptoms that are more specific to COVID-19 are fevers, chills, body aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
“I have normal allergies on the daily… when he called me and told me he tested positive, I thought it was a joke," Carolina said. "I’m like, there’s no way… when in doubt, get tested.”
Amar said cedar trees are the only pollinators that release pollen during the winter in central Texas -- and this year counts are higher than they've seen in decades. Pollen counts skyrocketed after the holidays passed, and with it came the highest concentration of cedar pollen central Texas has seen in over twenty years.
“Jan. 4 we counted over 31,000 pollen grains per cubic meter of air, which has been a record in our clinic… typically, high cedar counts are 3 to 10 thousand," Amar told AccuWeather's Bill Wadell.
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Typically, Amar said cedar pollen counts start to get higher in the last week of December and remain high through February.
Cedar counts in central Texas this year have exploded after the holidays, and experts have reported some of the highest counts in decades. (Photo/Bill Wadell)
“So far the pollen counts have been so high, it’s a much worse season compared to last year so far… if this continues through February, then it will certainly be one of the worst years," Amar said.
In terms of weather, Amar said windy and sunny days are the best for pollen -- but the worst for allergy sufferers. The worst days for the pollen to travel are rainy days as the precipitation weighs down the pollen grains and makes it more difficult for them to travel.
Last weekend, Texas was hit with a snowstorm that left more snow than some residents have seen in decades, which Amar said likely provide some relief to residents in terms of pollen counts.
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“We’re going to have a little bit of a reprieve for a few days after that," Motsinger said. "But it only takes a few days and a little bit of drying before those pollen cones start to erupt with pollen again and things go downhill in a hurry from there."
Reporting by Bill Wadell
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