Puddles of yellow water and sneezing by people with allergies are evidence of a high pollen count in Fairbanks.
Allergy specialist Dr. Timothy Foote of the Tanana Valley Clinic tells the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that birch pollen peaked at 1,400 grains per cubic meter of air last week.
He says the overall pollen concentration was 1,615.2 grains per cubic meter.
Those numbers are rated as "very high" on a pollen advisory scale. Foote says 150 to 200 grains per cubic meter is considered high in Lower 48 states.
Foote says the long winter had an effect on pollen. The peak was reached three weeks later than average and was the latest peak ever recorded by the clinic.
Recent rain in Fairbanks is expected to lower the pollen count.