New Term of the Week - Pollen Bomb

From The Atlantic:

"While that's a terrifying forecast for allergy-sufferers like myself, it's maybe not unprecedented. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, last January, the pollen count climbed to 16,675 grains per cubic meter in Austin, the highest level recorded in 16 years. It reached even higher in San Antonio (22,670). January 2014 saw the second-highest pollen levels in Central Texas history.

Last winter's pollen bomb was so explosive, in fact, that several people called the fire department, mistaking the massive pollen cloud hanging over Austin's Greenbelt for smoke.

That was the state of things last January. This winter's onset of cedar fever has been sudden, severe, and early. KXAN reports that on December 16, the first day that the recorded cedar pollen count in Travis County (Austin and environs) broke 100, it damn near reached 1,000. (As a former resident, I can tell you that these sudden spikes can cause people to miss work and school and fun and breathing.)

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America lists several Texas cities among its "allergy capitals," and all of them—McAllen, San Antonio, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Houston, and Abilene, in order of severity—have climbed the rankings in recent years. If changing weather patterns are exacerbating the prevalence of pollen, then one of those high-ranking Texas cities may be bound for the top spot."