Rain Puts Damper On Outdoor Activities

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Back to back rainy days this spring has local baseball fields normally packed with kids this time of year deserted.

North Hills Athletic Association Bronco League Commissioner Paul Pusateri says it's been a tough spring ball on the kids and parents.

"I think recently I counted we're 13 games behind," he said. "By this time of the year our Sunday Leagues are active and we've actually had to hold that back by a few weeks because the main season is the priority."

Flooded soccer fields in Greensburg have become a common sight this spring and soggy fields at local parks like on the North Side have forced many to improvise, like taking soccer from the grass onto the court. Some are even risking it in between thunderstorms a quick game of 1-on-1.

"I'm out until it starts raining so if it starts raining I'm going back inside," Carlton Backwell-Waller said. "It's just coming down each day. You think you're going outside when you get home from school and it starts raining when you get in school."

And allergy sufferers can't even catch a break from these consistently damp days.

"We've been extremely busy the last few weeks," Dr. Deborah Gentile with Allegheny General Hospital said. "The rain is also increasing the tree pollen season as well because everything is growing. It's so lush outside. So we have the tree pollen going on right now and then you have the mold spores out there."

If your allergies are acting up more than usual, Dr. Gentile suggests first using over-the-counter allergy medicine. If that doesn't work, use prescription meds. And if that's not working, talk to your physician about starting allergy-immuno therapy or getting allergy shots.

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