Pollen count continues to drop from last week’s near-record levels

After peaking above the 8,000-mark last week, Atlanta’s pollen count continued to drop on Monday.

Monday’s count, measured by the Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic, was 1,592 particles of pollen per cubic meter of air, down from weekend counts of 4,447 on Saturday and 2,839 on Sunday.

The highest count so far this spring was Thursday’s 8,024, followed closely by Friday’s count of 7,809.

The major pollens present early Monday were oak, birch, pine and sycamore. Monday’s count was the lowest since the daily pollen count began climbing into the extremely high range on April 7.

Rain forecast for later this week should help keep the pollen count down.

Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said the chance of rain is 20 percent Tuesday, 30 percent Wednesday, 20 percent Thursday and 60 percent Friday.

Afternoon highs will be in the low 70s Monday, near 80 Tuesday through Friday and in the mid-60s Saturday, Minton said. Lows will be mostly in the low 60s.