Predicted peak bloom date for DC’s cherry blossoms announced
D.C.’s iconic cherry blossoms are predicted to reach peak bloom between March 22 and March 25.
The announcement was made by Jeff Reinbold, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks for the National Park Service during a news conference with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Wednesday morning.
Peak bloom denotes when 70% of the famous Yoshino cherry trees along D.C.’s Tidal Basin are in full pink-puffy bloom.
This year’s projected date is about two weeks ahead of the average peak bloom date of April 4.
However, a word of caution about this year’s predicted date: Reinbold said the projection this year was made more difficult due to warmer-than-average temperatures and recent weather swings.
“Emerging from the warmest winter on record, this has been a particularly challenging year to read the trees and to project peak bloom,” Reinbold said.
Due to the warm winter, the trees never reached winter dormancy, Reinbold said, which is the starting point for calculating when the blooms will emerge.
In addition, an indicator tree used to gauge blossom development is giving off mixed signals, Reinbold said.
“Our natural resource manager likened … our indicator tree to a teenager: There’s a lot going on there. The indicator tree is showing us several different phases of blossoms.”
Last week, the annual cherry blossom watch officially kicked off when, on the same day the region saw record-setting 80-degree temperatures, the trees started to bud, marking the first of six stages on the way to peak bloom.
Two days later, temperatures plummeted and D.C. saw a dusting of light snow
The earliest peak bloom recorded was March 15 in 1990, according to the National Park Service.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 20 through April 16. The four-week festival includes an opening ceremony, parade and kite festival.
This is a developing story and will be updated.