This I'm not looking forward too...

I have to say that the desert is already more beautiful than it's been in years. My trip to Tucson last weekend showd me just how much rain we have had... The desert floor was deep green with yellow flowers already blossoming and you could see the fresh growth on the larger desert plants. As it warms over the next month it's only going to get more colorful, but...

The Arizona Republic- Allergy season "is going to be horrible this year," said Dr. Duane Wong of Arizona Allergy Associates. "We've had a lot more rain than usual this winter and only a night or two of freezing weather. "The plants will respond beautifully." With enough 70-degree days, pollens could start the misery as early as mid-February. That's when ash trees and Bermuda grass typically start to bloom, followed soon by mulberry and olive trees. The National Weather Service has forecast a few days at 70 degrees starting Feb. 13. After that, allergy sufferers won't get much relief until temperatures hit 100, ending the pollination period for most spring allergens. Airborne spores from rain-triggered molds indoors and out also could contribute to crowds in allergist offices this spring, said Chester Leathers, a retired Arizona State University microbiology professor who kept pollen counts in the Phoenix area from 1990 through 2000.