Achoo! Warmer winters mean allergy seasons hit earlier in Hampton Roads
This story is part of a weather reporting partnership with WTKR News 3.
For many in Hampton Roads, it’s already started.
Itchy, watery eyes. Stuffy, runny nose. Sinus congestion and headaches. All of these allergy symptoms can cause major disruption to daily life, and because of a warmer winter, allergy season is starting even earlier.
Dr. Mark Haggerty, a family medicine doctor in Virginia Beach, said he started seeing allergy patients in February. He said allergies are a way our bodies react to things it doesn’t like, and responses like mucus and biofilm create a barrier. Haggerty said he’s been seeing patients with allergies earlier over the past couple years. Warmer weather brings more pollen, he said, and folks spending more time outside means more exposure.
“In this area, allergens like pollens and animal dander and dust mites and mold are very common,” he said. “In the Tidewater area, we have a pretty unique climate. The ocean has a warming effect that keeps our temperature above freezing most of the year, so the allergens kind of stick around. So we have this kind of wet, warm, moist kind of environment so that these allergens just proliferate in our surroundings all the time. It definitely gets worse at different times of the year.”
This winter, Hampton Roads is in an El Nino pattern, which typically brings warmer and damper conditions. The ocean and the Chesapeake Bay moderate the region’s temperatures year-round. It’s fairly rare to have subfreezing temperatures in southeast Virginia, and large winter storms that come in toward the northeast typically just bring rain.
In February, average monthly temperatures in Hampton Roads ran about 1.5 degrees above normal, which is significant. According to historical data from the National Weather Service, the average temperature for January is 41.7 degrees, but in 2024, the average temperature was 45 degrees.
Haggerty said Virginia Beach consistently ranks as one of the worst places for allergies. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Virginia Beach checks in at 11th worst out of 100 cities and placed within the top 10 in grass and weed pollen categories. The report also said Virginia Beach residents tend to use allergy medication at a higher rate than other U.S. cities. Because temperatures have risen over time, pollen exposure has also gotten worse.
“Since that first report (in 2003), seasonal allergies have worsened,” the report reads. “Climate change has caused the growing seasons to get longer and warmer, leading to higher tree, grass, and weed pollen counts. Some parts of the United States now have pollen year-round. The warmer temperatures also get trapped in urban areas, which impact air pollution.”
As for spring, temperatures are expected to continue to be warmer than average. The Climate Prediction Center reported its outlook for March is expected to be above normal, as well, but rainy weather could help keep temperatures down.
Haggerty said getting ahead of symptoms, such as taking antihistamines, is one of the more effective ways of handling them.
“You can even start doing a nasal treatment or nasal steroid spray if that’s something that your doctor said you can use,” Haggerty said. “It’s a really effective way to get ahead of the symptoms that are coming. I’ll also advocate for nasal saline irrigation, and that’s really just running lukewarm, salty water through the back of your nose. We like to use distilled water because it is considered safer, but nasal irrigation really washes away those inflammatory mediators — the crust, the dirty mucus, the biofilms — that are kind of causing all of these symptoms.”
Chief Meteorologist Patrick Rockey, weather@wtkr.com
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
