Log in to WRAL.com with one click using your favorite social network:
OR
Log in using your WRAL.com account:



Wrong email/password combination.

Forgot password?

Register with WRAL.com using your favorite social network:
OR
Register for a WRAL.com account using our web form.

Login Options

7:25 p.m. • 2-12-12

Weather Forecast for Raleigh

  • Mon: Partly Cloudy.
    • Hi: 50° F
  • Tue: Rain.
    • Hi: 53° F
  • Wed: Partly Cloudy.
    • Hi: 57° F

Other Locations

> 7 Day Forecast

Doppler Image

Marketplace Links

Social Links

Main Menu

A New View

Angela Connor is Managing Editor for User-Generated Content at CBC New Media. She recently relocated to the Triangle from South Florida with her husband and two young daughters.  In this blog she shares the ups, downs and uncertainties that come along with making North Carolina her new home.

RSS Feed
Pollen pic

Pending Pollen Plague?


Pollen, schmollen!
What’s the big fat deal?
I’m hearing from almost everyone that I am soon to find out.
“Brace yourself,” said Dolly after she told me about the time she and her husband Matt left the windows open while they went to see a movie and came back to find it all over their beautiful floors.
“Oh, it’s a killer,” warned Mike.
Mike told my husband Derrick, who then told me, that this stuff comes down like gangbusters and even leaves a light dusting over cars.
Mike also said it wreaks pure havoc on anyone with allergies.
Is it really THAT bad?
Are these two embellishing their stories in an effort to prepare us for the worst, or do we need to take cover?
In Florida, it was the heat index and humidity, (which always seemed to hover around 100 percent,) that sent you on a quest to find central air conditioning.
In Michigan, it was the wind chill factor that could freeze your nose right off your face.
In Ohio, we worried about lake effect snow.
But this is new, and it’s beginning to sound serious.
So, how bad is this pollen plague? And when exactly is it coming?
(Exact dates, please!)
Sounds like I may need an umbrella, and a box of tissue.
Or better yet, a prescription for Claritin.

Read More Posts from this Blog
e-mail print friendly

7 Comments


WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.


page 1
sort order: oldest first | newest first

Thanks for all of the feedback and tips. I'll be sure to follow the advice that everyone has offered. It's nice to see that you all think the pollen is a small price to pay to live in this beautiful area. Thanks again for the warm welcome. -Angela

Actually the pollen is just beginning. In another week or two it should be in full swing. Being a native North Carolinian I have always loved living here but it's nice to know others like it, too. I can definitely do without the pollen, however. I would even give up some trees. And do not wash your car until it is finished. It is a waste of time and money (it only takes a few hours for your car to be coated again) and pray for frequent hard rain showers. That will be your only relief. You do learn to love rain around here this time of year. Hope you will come to love NC as much as I do and welcome aboard.

We were living in Ohio but building a house in Chapel Hill. I drove down one lovely spring day to check progress, arrived early in the morning and left my (black) car parked in the midst of pines. I went off with the builder, and returned late in the day.

I took one look at my car and started using some nasty language. I thought someone had spray painted my car yellow!

The builder couldn't stop laughing, and found lots to say about damyankees who couldn't tell pine pollen from paint.

Yes, the pollen is a pain but it's a small price to pay for living in this area.

Curious Georgia hit it right. The pollen is a small price for the spring beauty of Carolina. Spring is my favorite season here with all those blossoms, the next 8 weeks will be glorious. Just pray for a light shower regularly to hold the pollen down.

Once again,welcome to North Carolina. Hope that you enjoy living here as much as most of us do. And I hope that you and your family have felt welcomed. POLLEN. You are lucky that someone warned you. We usually don't where I work. It is so much fun to see a newcomer's eyes bug out.But that is because it is impressive but it is usually harmless to most people. I have allergies and work with people who have asthma and other breathing problems but this pollen seems to effect very few people. At least that way. But leave any door or window open and it will effect you. You will be vaccuming,dusting and cleaning counter for a week. Like seeing tulips it's a sign of spring here.

Also you will want to have a good supply of comforting eye drops, pine pollen is very gritty. Actually the pine pollen isn't so hard on the allergies, it is just very messy. It is sort of cool, though when the wind blows just right, it looks like a chartreuse fog is drifting across the land. I have lived in many parts of the world and never seen anything like it. The pine trees are starting to get ready, probably next week they will begin.

The real sneezy stuff comes from the maples, the oaks and other deciduous plants, and they are getting into full swing right now.

Take heart, though, the dogwood trees' flowers are so enchanting, the white ones seem to glow on a grey day or in the early morning light!

North Carolina is a good place to be!

Yes, get the tissue ready and your money ready for a daily car washing, it will get bad and it should be here within the next few weeks. My pear tree is already showing blooms so it is getting close and my eyes are already dying out so it is coming.

page 1
sort order: oldest first | newest first

Featured Blogposts

  • scotty and mr wuf

    American Idol and Garner native Scotty McCreery performs at N.C. State's Hoops 4 Hope. The circus is in town. And Olympic-level table tennis stops in Cary. Here's what's happening this weekend.

  • Hoops 4 Hope on Feb. 15, 2009

    The Hillsborough Street Community Service Corporation is sponsoring Play 4Kay events on Hillsborough Street starting Feb. 8 to support Hoops 4 Hope and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

  • Heart

    Showering your loved ones with goodies is always fun to do on Valentine's Day, but not if it leaves you drowning in debt! With a little planning and creativity, you can show your loved ones you care and stay within your budget.

Other Recent Blogposts