Tears and sneezes: Ragweed is in the air

Bless you, Chattanooga. If you’re not sneezing now, just wait a few weeks.

The pollen count is rising with the raging ragweed that plagues Southern noses.

Ragweed is measured on a scale from one to 50, with anything over 50 considered “extremely heavy.” Earlier this week, air pollution technicians rated Chattanooga’s air a 154 on the pollen scale, more than three times the rating needed to pose a problem, said Amber McCorvie, spokeswoman for the Air Pollution Control Bureau.

For the unlucky people who are allergic to ragweed, this is the time of year when watery eyes and wrinkled-up tissues yield a three-word phrase: “It’s my allergies.”