The National Park Service has pushed back their predicted peak bloom time for the cherry blossoms to April 8-12.
It has been a cold March in Washington, D.C.! The month of March was actually colder than February here in the district. It has been so cold in fact that the weather keeps pushing back the peak bloom time of the cherry blossoms. On March 23, The National Park Service (NPS) announced a revised peak bloom time in light of the frigid temperatures. Now the cherry blossoms are expected to be at peak bloom from April 8-12. [caption id="attachment_8204" align="aligncenter" width="663"]
Courtesy of Gray Line DC[/caption]
NPS originally predicted the peak bloom time would be March 17-20 and then they pushed that back to March 27-31. Now it is pushed back even further after a period of snow and chilly temperatures. NPS states that it is difficult to accurately predict the peak bloom time more than 10 days before the peak.
Although the cold weather has affected the cherry blossoms, it hasn't affected the National Cherry Blossom Festival which started on Sunday. The festival will be going on almost all month long! The National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade is scheduled for April 14. With the increasingly delayed peak bloom time for the cherry blossoms, the trees may be in peak bloom during the parade.
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Courtesy of Cherry Blossom Watch[/caption]
If the revised peak bloom time has affected your travel plans you should still be able to see some blossoms. The peak bloom is a period of time when 70% of the Yoshino Cherry blossoms are opened. The Yoshino trees' usually stayed bloomed for a period of a few days but cool, calm weather can extend the time the trees are bloomed. If Washington, D.C.'s chilly weather continues we could have more time to see the iconic cherry blossoms. If you want to see the blossoms earlier, the cherry blossoms florets are currently visible so there are still sights to see!
What do you think? Does the revised peak bloom time affect your plans? Are you ready for some spring weather?
