Sterling, VA Pollen Count
Sterling, VA · Last updated Friday, November 6, 2026
This page shows the most recent reading available for Sterling — from Friday, November 6, 2026 (1 day ago) — not today's reading.
Pollen Overview
Today's overall pollen level and the dominant type (trees, weeds, grass, or mold).
Total Pollen Index
The combined pollen level across all types (0–100).
Sterling, VA
Weeds Index
How active weeds pollen is today (0–100).
Sterling, VA
Pollen Types
Pick a pollen subtype to update the species forecast
5-Day Sterling Overall Pollen Forecast
Bars are colored by severity (Low/Moderate/High).
Pollen count Sterling residents check each morning
The Sterling pollen count today is 15 (Low). The main driver is Ragweed, with weed pollen at 19 today. That total sits on a narrow base: weed pollen is 19 while tree pollen is just 0.6 and grass pollen 0.6. Plant-by-plant detail for Sterling, VA follows, along with the outlook for the days ahead. Pollen Atlas updated this count on Friday, November 6, 2026.
A Low band on the Pollen Atlas index means the Total Pollen Index has stayed in the lower part of the 0–100 scale. Readings in this band are built from low individual category values rather than from one large spike, and the category split above matters more than the headline number: a low total can still contain one category, such as weed pollen or mold, reading noticeably higher than the rest, which is why the split is printed on every Sterling page.
Fall is ragweed season across most of the United States: ragweed plants release pollen from late summer into autumn, and weed pollen is typically the last major outdoor pollen category to fade as the weather cools. That pattern is why an autumn total is so often weed-led even when the headline number is low — tree and grass pollen have usually receded by then, leaving weed pollen, and on damp days mold, to make up most of what the index records.
To see whether today’s pollen level holds, check the 5-day Sterling pollen forecast below — it is currently rising, with Saturday the highest day in the window.
This is the pollen count Sterling residents check each morning, built from the day’s tree, grass, weed and mold readings.
What is the Sterling pollen count today?
The Sterling pollen count today is 15 out of 100 (Low) on the Pollen Atlas Total Pollen Index, driven mainly by Ragweed.
Short answer for anyone searching pollen count today Sterling: this page is updated every morning with the day’s modelled reading.
Sterling allergies today
Sterling allergies today are set by the same reading as the pollen count above: the Total Pollen Index is 15 (Low), driven mainly by Ragweed. When people ask about Sterling allergies, this is the number that answers them — one daily index built from today’s tree, grass, weed and mold readings for Sterling.
Allergies in Sterling follow the Virginia calendar set out below — the chapters, the plants behind them, and the 5-day forecast on this page show whether today is typical for the season or an exception to it. If you are checking allergies today in Sterling before heading outdoors, the split at the top of this page is the part to read: it shows which pollen is doing the work today, not just how high the total sits.
Read the five-day table on this page as the Sterling allergy forecast: today reads 15 (Low), and the day-by-day outlook shows whether Sterling allergies are set to ease or build across the week — the days to plan outdoor time around are the ones where the index steps down, not just today.
In practice, the allergy count Sterling today records is this same combined reading — tree, grass, weed and mold in one index.
The Sterling allergy count today is 15 (Low) — the same Total Pollen Index as the pollen count above, in one combined reading.
Pollen count today Sterling: the 5-day forecast
| Day | Total Pollen Index | Band |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, November 6 | 15 | Low |
| Saturday, November 7 | 21 | Low |
| Sunday, November 8 | 21 | Low |
| Monday, November 9 | 21 | Low |
| Tuesday, November 10 | 21 | Low |
Pollen Atlas forecasts Sterling’s pollen count to peak on Saturday at 21 (Low) over the next 5 days.
Pollen by type in Sterling
What is driving Sterling’s pollen today
The shape of today’s 15 (Low) is set by weed pollen at 19 (Low on its own scale) — about 94% of the four category readings added together, 18.4 points clear of the next category, tree pollen at 0.6. A weed-led total is the classic late-year shape: tree and grass pollen have usually receded, leaving weed pollen — and on damp days mold — to make up most of what the index records. Weed pollen leading in November is the Virginia calendar working as expected — November falls in the closing weeks of the state’s weed chapter.
Plant-level detail is not in today’s feed for Sterling, so the drivers have to be read from the category split above. The Virginia guide’s account of Virginia names a spring tree crest and a fall ragweed season joined by a summer grass bridge — the pollens behind readings of this shape in this state — and the split shows how much of today’s total each category is actually carrying.
Across the five-day window the Total Pollen Index runs from 15 to 21, never changing band. Today’s 15 sits 5 points below the window’s average of 19.8 — a moving window, worth reading day by day rather than from the average.
Plants affecting Sterling now
Detailed plant-by-plant readings for Sterling were not returned in today\u2019s source data, so this section summarises the pollen types the index above is built from instead of listing individual plants.
Tree pollen is one of the categories with a non-zero reading today, at 0.6 (Low).
Grass pollen is one of the categories with a non-zero reading today, at 0.6 (Low).
Weed pollen is one of the categories with a non-zero reading today, at 19 (Low).
In the Southeast pattern, the plants that typically shape this city’s year are spring trees, warm-season grasses and late-summer ragweed — named here as regional context only, not as today\u2019s measurements.
Plant detail returns here automatically on any day the source data includes it.
Every pollen type, with photos and seasons: the pollen directory.
Sterling pollen through the year
Chapter by chapter, the Sterling pollen year runs like this:
- Trees can start as early as February and peak in April.
- Grasses follow in May and run through the summer.
- Ragweed runs from mid-August to the first frost.
- Mold is the quiet fourth player, sustained by river-valley humidity between the pollen waves.
The Virginia allergy season guide names a spring tree crest and a fall ragweed season joined by a summer grass bridge. The mid-Atlantic spring crest moves inland and uphill: coastal readings crest first, Piedmont readings follow, and mountain readings trail by one to two weeks in most years. The AAFA has ranked Virginia’s capital region among the more challenging US metros in its annual Allergy Capitals assessments.
November in Sterling sits inside the weed chapter of the Virginia year, in its closing weeks — the part of the calendar today’s readings should be judged against. Between them, the three chapters cover 10 months of the Virginia year, February to November — a long season by national standards, with only a short quiet gap. The full calendar is set out in the Virginia allergy season guide.
How to read this index
Pollen Atlas reports the Sterling pollen count on a Total Pollen Index from 0 to 100, built from separate tree, grass and weed readings. The total is a summary, not an average of the three: a single strong category can lift it, and three quiet categories can hold it down even in a month when Sterling, VA pollen is usually more active. Index values are a modelled pollen risk index computed by Pollen Atlas from open weather, vegetation and phenology data, calibrated against CDC/NAB season data, with plant detail by the Google Pollen API. The index is a modelled 0–100 scale, not a measured count, and figures update through the day, so a morning and an evening visit to this page can legitimately show different numbers.
Sterling in today’s national picture
At 15 (Low), Sterling ranks joint 66640th of the 90896 cities Pollen Atlas tracks today — in the middle of the national table. The highest reading in the country today is Serpa, Portugal at 53, and the lowest is Galiakberovo, Russia at 5. The whole table spans 48 points today — a wide-open day, when the top and bottom of the table are effectively in different seasons.
Around Sterling: Dulles Town Center, VA (1 miles away) reads 15 (Low); Oak Grove, VA (2 miles away) reads 15 (Low); Dranesville, VA (2 miles away) reads 15 (Low). Sterling reads exactly level with its nearest tracked neighbour today. Across Virginia’s 687 tracked cities, today runs from 5 in Brandermill to 25 in Bridgewater.
Pollen totals are population numbers; symptoms are personal. The same reading can leave one Sterling resident untouched and floor another, depending on which pollens they are sensitised to. If this pattern finds you every ragweed season, allergists in Sterling, VA can test whether tree, grass, weed or mold is the category that matters for you — the four readings at the top of this page are the starting point for that conversation.
Sterling in its local area
Sterling is a census-designated place in Loudoun County, Virginia. Its population is 31,251 (ACS 2023).
Across Virginia’s 687 tracked cities, Sterling ranks joint 97th today.
Like every Pollen Atlas city page, the Sterling, VA pollen count is refreshed each morning.
Nearby cities
- Dulles Town Center pollen count (1 miles away)
- Oak Grove pollen count (2 miles away)
- Dranesville pollen count (2 miles away)
- Herndon pollen count (3 miles away)
- Sugarland Run pollen count (3 miles away)
- Hutchison pollen count (3 miles away)
From Pollen Atlas News
See how Sterling ranks in today's pollen count rankings — the worst cities for allergies today
See Sterling on the US pollen map
Pollen indexes: a modelled pollen risk index computed by Pollen Atlas from open weather, vegetation and phenology data, calibrated against CDC/NAB season data. Plant detail: Google Pollen API. Index values are modelled, not measured counts. Sources: CDC/NAB; USA-NPN; GBIF (CC BY); ESA WorldCover (CC BY 4.0).