Today marks the start of spring and the first day of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC! The cherry blossoms reached stage 3 (Extension of Florets) yesterday! The National Park Service predicts peak bloom to be between March 28-31st. Last year, peak bloom occurred on March 17th. "Peak bloom" is defined as the day when 70% of the blossoms are in full bloom! Predicting when the blossoms will reach peak bloom is difficult as there is a decent amount of variability in the peak bloom date when analyzing records over the past 104 years.
Since 1921, the average peak bloom date for the cherry blossoms in Washington DC is April 3rd. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the peak bloom date is occurring earlier than it did in the past, about 7-8 days earlier. In recent years, the cherry blossom trees have bloomed near the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival.
The weather can have a big influence on the length of blooming. Warmer temperatures are believed to be a contributing factor to earlier than normal bloom dates. Gusty winds and excessive rain could lead to tidal flooding, which would threaten the blossoms. This could negatively impact not only the trees, but also tourism and the local economy.
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