The University of Tulsa
2009-2010 Mountain Cedar Pollen Forecasts
Thank you for your interest in our pollen forecasting web site. We have stopped the Mountain Cedar forecasts for 2009-2010. Members of our forecasting team checked the trees in Texas. They found that most of the mountain cedar trees have stopped pollinating - pollen cones were dropping off. Also the spring tree pollen season typically begins in early February in Texas and Oklahoma. Some eastern red cedar and elm trees have already started to pollinate along with other trees.
It is important to remember that mountain cedar pollen and eastern red cedar are closely related species. These have been reported to cross react. As a result patients allergic to mountain cedar may continue experience symptoms. However, eastern red cedar pollen is not considered as potent an allergen, so symptoms may be not as severe.
Check our Spring pollen pages for information on other pollen types. Although this was set up for eastern Oklahoma, most of the trees occur throughout the south central United States. Also, be sure to come back next year after Thanksgiving as we gear up to begin forecasting again.
|
|
|
Forecasts for 2009-2010 |
|
Send us your symptom score or symptom survey |
LONG DISTANCE TRANSPORT
Pollen from mountain cedar populations in southern Oklahoma and Texas is capable of traveling long distances over short periods of time along prevailing winds. Pollen from populations in the Edwards Plateau can be carried to Dallas, Tulsa, or even further north. Research in our lab has focused on identifying the meteorological conditions that are associated with long distance transport. Generally, pollen is transported on days that are warm and sunny with southerly winds. Our forecasts have been developed to provide an alert for patients sensitive to mountain cedar pollen. We will be offering forecasts at least three days a week during December and January. Forecasts are developed using the HY-SPLIT trajectory model, which comes from NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) in Silver Spring, Maryland. On days when pollen is forecast for a particular area, sensitive individuals may wish to limit outdoor activities or take other measures suggested by their physician.
Questions: Aerobiology Lab e-mail: pollen@utulsa.edu
Return to Mountain Cedar Home Page