'Season of yellow' upon us as pollen returns early in North Carolina

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Our yellow dusty particle friends are returning, even though no one asked. Allergy-sufferers dread this time of year. The temperatures rise and a yellow dust begins to invade.

The pollen is back and it's considerably ahead of schedule this year--several weeks ahead in fact.

Sunday was the first day of meteorological spring and temperatures are warmer than average for this time of year. That warm weather has brought pollen out earlier too.

ABC11 meteorologist Don "Big Weather" Schwenneker says he remembers seeing the first pollen of the year back in February. He also said in his nine years in North Carolina, he's never seen high pollen count this early in the year.

All tree pollens (ash, elm & juniper) will be elevated for the rest of the week, with the weekend looking particularly bad. Pollen.com logs a 9.3.on the allergy report for Raleigh and Durham on Wednesday, which is medium-high.

Typically in North Carolina, pollen starts appearing on trees in March and peaks on trees in April. It collects on grass starting in the spring and hits the weeds around August.

Last year, a photographer captured a photo of a pollen "cloud" blanketing Durham, showcasing a "pollenpocalypse" of sorts.