Dust mites, pollen, and many other environmental factors can trigger asthma symptoms, like coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing.
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A new study suggests that thunderstorms may play a role, too.
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The research, presented this week at the 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) in Orlando, Florida, found that asthma-related emergency room visits in Wichita, Kansas, jumped fivefold on days with thunderstorms.
“Thunderstorm asthma events have been documented in other regions, most notably the 2016 Melbourne outbreak and studies from Minneapolis–St. Paul and Louisiana,” says Diala Merheb, MD, lead author of the study and an internal medicine resident at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita. “Our study adds local data from Wichita, a Midwestern area where this connection hadn’t been explored before.”
ER Visits for Asthma Went Up 500 Percent on Days With Thunderstorms
The analysis examined more than 4,000 asthma-related emergency department visits over four years in three hospitals in Wichita, Kansas. The study authors classified each visit as occurring on a storm or nonstorm day by using weather records from the National Centers for Environmental Information.
They found that 14 percent of asthma-related ER visits occurred on 38 thunderstorm days, which represented just 2 percent calendar days in the study period.
That averaged out to about 18 asthma ER visits per day during thunderstorms, compared with just 3 per day on nonstorm days — an increase of 500 percent.
The older a person, the greater their risk of a storm-related emergency visit for asthma. But gender, location, and admission or discharge from the hospital didn’t significantly impact the likelihood of an ER visit during a storm.
“Findings support storm-specific public health preparedness, including education and modifications to asthma action plans to ease healthcare burden,” the researchers concluded.
Why Thunderstorms May Trigger Asthma Symptoms
Asthma is a chronic condition that causes inflammation of the airways, and symptoms are often triggered by pollen, mold, dust, air pollutants, and other factors, says Amir Tabibnia, DO, an emergency medicine doctor in Los Angeles and the regional medical director of Southern California at Sollis Health. Dr. Tabibnia was not involved with the new research.
Internationally, thunderstorms are also recognized as a risk factor for asthma attacks, especially for people with pollen allergies.
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Dr. Merheb says the reasons for this connection aren’t fully understood.
Tabibnia points out that strong winds, temperature shifts, humidity, and air pressure changes that occur with thunderstorms can “disrupt and break apart airborne allergens, like pollen and mold spores, into tiny particles that are easier to inhale deep into the lungs.”
“These conditions can worsen symptoms for individuals with asthma or seasonal allergies,” Merheb adds.
The latest findings highlight how weather conditions can significantly influence asthma symptoms and why preparedness matters, Tabibnia says. It also suggests that “thunderstorm asthma” could occur in certain regions of the United States.
What to Know if You Have Asthma
“The main takeaway is awareness,” Merheb says. “Recognizing that certain weather patterns can be associated with worsening asthma symptoms allows people to take proactive steps like staying consistent with controller medications and keeping rescue inhalers handy.”
While not every storm will trigger symptoms for everyone, and it might not happen everywhere, Tabibnia suggests treating spring and early-summer thunderstorms as higher-risk days for asthma flare-ups.
Make sure that you’re following your doctor’s recommendations to manage your asthma, including taking prescribed asthma medications, as this can lower your risk for severe attacks from triggers, he says.
Here are some other tips to prepare during thunderstorms:
- Keep your rescue inhaler handy.
- Follow your asthma action plan.
- Stay indoors and keep windows closed during thunderstorms, if possible, especially the first part of a storm when pollen and allergens are being stirred up
- Wear a well-fitting mask if you must go outdoors.
“If symptoms become severe despite these precautions, seek medical care immediately,” Tabibnia says.
