IMO, it's ALWAYS a bad year in NE for allergies! (I'm in CT). From October through May (if I'm lucky)/June, I have to take a Zyrtec pill plus a couple of shots of Flonase. And I still can't breathe through my nose at all. It gets worse as it gets colder, too - I'm literally allergic to the cold. Every year when we've driven to Florida in February, it clears up when we reach South Carolina, and then returns around the same area on the way home. This is my favorite time of year, but the allergies put a damper on it!