Kansas City Air Quality (Independence: insurance, allergies, live)

[friedzone]

How is the air quality in KC? How many "ozone alert days"?

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by friedzone

How is the air quality in KC? How many "ozone alert days"?

The worst air quality is generally during the summer months when you could have a number of orange alert days or worse (dependent on the weather pattern). The problem is compounded by a large number of coal power plants in the metro area.
The other seasons generally have better air quality compared to summer.

[friedzone]

Thanks Granite. I was reading the weather threads also for good info on KC. By the way, I love New Hampshire, New England and upstate NY. I would live there except for the fact I don't much care to drive in the snow and it does get pretty cold there.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by friedzone

Thanks Granite. I was reading the weather threads also for good info on KC. By the way, I love New Hampshire, New England and upstate NY. I would live there except for the fact I don't much care to drive in the snow and it does get pretty cold there.

I have found the cold to be far more tolerable in New England due to the lighter winds most of the time. It is far more comfortable than the dry/windy cold air in the Plains/Midwest.
If you dislike snow you are in for a treat. KC always seems to avoid any significant snow 95% of the time. Therefore, those that enjoy winter sports usually have to go to the Rockies or the Upper Midwest.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by friedzone

Thanks Granite. I was reading the weather threads also for good info on KC. By the way, I love New Hampshire, New England and upstate NY. I would live there except for the fact I don't much care to drive in the snow and it does get pretty cold there.

We get plenty of cold in KC, but like GraniteStater said, it doesn't snow much. There's a couple of times each winter that we'll see a decent snow storm, and the rest is just minor events throughout the winter. The wind is really bad sometimes. It's not uncommon to get down to 0, and every once in a while, we can go several days or even 2-3 weeks without getting above freezing.
There's some ozone alert days in the summer, and sometimes I can see a thin cloud of smog above the city from a hill in Independence. The worst thing, I think, is the allergies. I've never had much problem with allergies, but there's something around here that gets to me pretty bad.

[friedzone]

Is there an allergy season or do allergies last all year?

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by friedzone

Is there an allergy season or do allergies last all year?

Spring, summer, and fall. Different allergies are worse or better depending on the time of year. Some stuff may not bother you individually. Winter isn't that long, but it does seem to last longer than any other single season.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by friedzone

Is there an allergy season or do allergies last all year?

Spring and Fall are quite bad. Ragweed and mold are common issues. The rainy season (between May-June really brings out the mold problem).
Winter is generally quite mild compared with the Midwest core area (I-80 on northward east of the Missouri River).

[Johnny Bananas]

When I visited the Northeast a few years back, it seemed like the weather was bit warmer with less winds during the winter (January I believe). Here it is more mild and windy. The wind just makes things worse.

As for ozone alert days: you will probably experience more in July/August. You could have orange level for several days but then it will eventually cool down. Rarely have I seen red alert; even when it was in the 100's.

Allergies are going to kick in wildly during April/May and can/will last until Mid-Autumn. Winter (now this could be just me) is when you'll experience more aches and pains.

[Dawter]

I have searched all over but can't really find out when my allergies kick in. I hate to wait until I have a coughing spell then, "Oh! It's time to take some medicine."
There are periods (or weeks) in the spring & summer when I have this awful cough. Allegra is $30 a month with insurance.
The doctor said my coughing is due to allergies. Drainage, sore throat, white spots in the throat.
I'd never had allergies in my life (no coughing spells) but she said you can get them when you get older. Yeah, I guess 54 is older.
Last summer the coughing got so bad I got some DucimexDM (sp) and would take one a day during the summer. It helped stop the coughing.
But, two weeks ago the coughing started again and got so bad. It was horrible- the coughing spells. I was at work and a fit of coughing would arise. It sounds like I'm dying and attracts so much unwanted attention that I decided I had to visit the doctor.
She gave me a prescription for Allegra D. I've been taking it for 5 days and I barely cough at all.
Now if I could only poop normally again

So, how do I find out when my allergy coughing spells are going to come? I mean without doing all kinds oftests at the doc's office.
Thanks, in advance!