Seeing pollen in rainwater is unusual.

Warm temperatures are causing birch buds to burst, sending large amounts of pollen in the air. In Chuathbaluk, there was so much pollen, it was visible as a tornado.

After a cold winter and spring, high temperatures around the Interior prompted birch tree buds to burst, sending record-setting levels of pollen into the air.

Spiking levels of birch pollen around much of the state are also being seen during an early spring in Anchorage this week, as doctors deal with an influx of allergy and asthma patients.

For those who suffer from seasonal allergies, spring means red eyes, mucus and fits of sneezing. This year, the Lynn Canal has seen a remarkable spruce pollen bloom.

Local residents debated whether a massive release of spruce pollen, which accumulated on every surface—including car bonnets, picnic tables and the nearby Kachemak Bay—amounted to a “golden sheen” or a “yellow scum”. The fine dust turned the surface of the sea the colour of butter and left a bright, lemony line on shore that marked the extent of high tide and gave off a sickly sweet smell. This huge release of pollen might be yet another symptom of a rapidly changing environment.