Vermont "Pollen Storm" As Alex Becomes Tropical Storm AFTER Doing Its Damage

A breezy late Saturday afternoon yesterday in St. Albans, 
Vermont. That slight haze you see is almost surely
a "pollen storm" of sorts that bothered allergy sufferers.

No question Saturday was a beautiful day, aside from scattered showers and thunderstorms north of Route 2 and east of the Champlain Valley. 

It was bright, largely sunny and breezy. What's not to love?

Allergy sufferers would like a word. 

The wind and dry air had the pollen swirling in the breezes. You could actually see a slight greyish or yellowish haze in the air, especially as northwest winds picked up in the afternoon.  Saturday was a BIG pollen day in Vermont. 

I'm not usually a big allergy sufferer, but I was coughing and sneezing, and my nose was basically Niagara Falls. Especially when I ventured outside into my gardens in the late afternoon.

Interestingly, nipping at a couple beers while in the garden seemed to alleviate the allergy symptoms. A disclaimer here, though:.Do NOT take medical advice from me. Harpoon UFO White is NOT a cure for allergies, despite my good experiences with it last evening.  See your doctor if allergies are bothering you. 

Locust tree over the weekend fully in bloom, St. Albans,
Vermont. These trees probably contributed to what I'm
calling a "pollen storm" in Vermont Saturday.

Today is less breezy, so things outside might be a little better. But it's still dry, so pollen can easily float in the air. It's that time of year. I think a lot of it is coming from pine trees. I also have flowering locust trees around my house, and they reached peak bloom Friday.  Yesterday, the pollen and flower petals were blowing off those trees like crazy.

Rain expected later Tuesday will at least tamp down the "pollen storm" in Vermont a little bit. 

The slight pollen haze that was noticeable yesterday prompted an interesting discussion on Twitter about summer haze. The always extremely helpful folks at the National Weather Service in South Burlington explained the more traditional bluish haze we often see during the summer. 

As NWS Burlington explains, that common blue haze we often see in the summer is to a large extent made up of tree isoprene. It's a natural chemical compound trees release to manage heat stress.  The Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains are in the hot, humid Southeast and that isoprene release down there is probably how those mountain ranges got their names. 

The National Weather Service agreed that any hazy noticeable in Vermont Saturday was likely pollen or dust, since it wasn't particularly hot out. 

TROPICAL STORM ALEX

Wannabe tropical storm Alex finally turned into official Tropical Storm Alex, ironically after doing most of its damage.

As the storm drenched South Florida with up to 13 inches of rain on Saturday, it didn't have a well defined center. It was just a big blob of torrential thunderstorms. 

Satellite view of Tropical Storm Alex northeast
of Florida this morning. 

Overnight, these storms largely left Florida and hit the warm Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Florida.  

The Gulf Stream is even warmer than normal right now, and the thunderstorms took advantage of that heat to organize into roughly a circular wind field. That was enough to make it an official tropical storm. Alex is here.

Not for long, though. It had max winds of 50 mph this morning, and might gain a bit more steam today. 

Then it will begin to weaken, once again falling victim to strong upper level winds.  A tropical storm warning is up for Bermuda for Monday, but I think that island will weather this weak tropical storm fairly well.

Flooding was extensive in South Florida from what was then just a potential tropical storm. But a foot of rain can put a lot of streets and highways under water in a short period of time. Dozens of cars stalled in the water in downtown Miami, and in surrounding communities. 

Floor warnings have since been lifted in Florida.