As we didn’t have enough problems already!
Millions of hay fever sufferers in Britain were warned this week that a high pollen count and thunderstorms will trigger a weather phenomenon known as ‘thunder fever’.
The UK will face ‘unseasonably’ strong winds later this week as ex-tropical storm Alex brings 45mph gusts in some areas – and pollen counts will be pushed to ‘high’ or ‘very high’ in all of England and Wales by Friday.
Storm Alex caused disruption across Florida, bringing 5.2in (133mm) of rain and there will be enough power left in the storm when it hits UK shores.
⚠️ Yellow weather warning issued ⚠️
Thunderstorms across S Scotland and NE England
Wednesday 1300 – 2000
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/kSSNUp1ZYU
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 8, 2022
Southern and eastern England faced ‘medium’ pollen counts yesterday, and will be ‘very high’ today and then across most of England by Friday.
Luckily for those further North, it will be ‘low’ in Scotland, ‘medium’ in Northern Ireland and ‘high’ in Wales.
The Met Office has already issued yellow thunderstorm warning, with thunderstorms expected to hit the north of England and south of Scotland.
Hay fever sufferers have also been warned that they could be hit with ‘thunder fever’ – an extreme version of hay fever caused by the high pollen count, high temperatures and thunderstorms.
Rain will spread into the west through Thursday morning 🌧️
Cloudy in the north with a few showers, but drier and brighter in the south 🌥️ pic.twitter.com/lbeUs0M1cn
— Met Office (@metoffice) June 8, 2022
Unfortunately for those who hate the season of runny noses and itchy eyes already may have to accept that the stormy weather could make allergies worse instead of better.
Airborne allergens expert Max Wiseberg, creator of the HayMax allergen barrier balm, said: ‘With this fine weather thunderstorms are also predicted, and they can bring problems for hay fever sufferers.”
Wiseberg explained that the predicted thunderstorms would not give ‘respite’ to hay fever sufferers as the high pollen count and high temperatures create a phenomena referred to as ‘thunder fever’.
He added: “This appears to be more allergenic than normal pollen, causing more severe reactions in sufferers. Storms bring pollen grains down which might have otherwise risen above head height out of harm’s way and whipping up pollen grains and fungal spores near the ground.”
Meanwhile, a Met Office spokesman told Mail Online: “The wind is the main part of the story – unseasonably strong winds for the time of year. We could see gusts of up to 45mph through Friday.
“Those sorts of wind speeds will be fairly confined to the far north-west of the UK, but as the low pressure goes over the north of the UK through Saturday, a wider area of the north of the UK could see those sorts of wind speeds.
“It will be windy everywhere across the UK, but the further south you go, the less influence the low pressure will have.”
He added that the ex-storm will largely lose its strength as it progresses into the weekend and that “’it doesn’t have its regular tropical properties in terms of strength”.
In short – good luck everyone and may the hay fever tablets be with you …
Related links:
- More than a dozen dogs killed as UK storm brings down 11,000-volt cables
- Storm Eunice sends church spire toppling in Somerset
