Typical "Allergy Season" Changing in Wisconsin

Friday, October 30th, 2026 -- 9:00 AM

(Joel Patenaude, Wisconsin Public Radio) For those who suffer from allergies in the upper Midwest, it used to be easier to predict when the sneezing, itchy eyes and congestion would start and, mercifully, end.

According to Joel Patenaude with Wisconsin Public Radio, it’s still the case that in the fall, ragweed pollen and damp, moldy leaves trigger these symptoms. In the spring, fine and powdery pollen from hardwood trees including elms, maples and oaks are in the wind.

And come summer, the mowing of every suburban yard kicks up a lot of irritating allergens. Winter is when we’re trapped indoors with dust mites and pet dander. But warming temperatures have blurred, lengthened and worsened pollen seasons here in Wisconsin.

The result is more people, including those who haven’t previously experienced bad bouts of hay fever and sinus pressure, sharing in the misery. More than 25 percent of American adults and nearly 21 percent of children suffer from seasonal allergies, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Asked recently on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “The Lee Rayburn Show” if climate change is contributing to longer and more intense allergy seasons, Erica Landgraf, a nurse practitioner at Allergy Asthma and Sinus Center in Milwaukee County and Racine, said, “Unfortunately, yes.”

“We’re seeing tree season start a week or two earlier than it did 20 years ago. That gives time for the pollen to be around longer,” she said. “The ragweed and weed season is also prolonged because we’re not getting an early frost like we used to. And other environmental factors, such as pollution and other particulates in the air, have a tendency to actually make allergens a bit stronger.”

Landgraf said there are new, longer-acting medicines, treatments and immunotherapies available. The most effective medications, she said, are ones prescribed for an individual who is tested and determined to have specific allergies, rather than self diagnosed.

“I will always recommend seeing a specialist,” Landgraf said, “but there are many over-the-counter treatments now. Sometimes that can be confusing. Talking with a specialist about the type of allergens you are exposed to can be very helpful in picking the right regimen, so you’re not guessing as you’re standing in aisle 4 at CVS.”

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.