Warmer climate forces Washington cherry blossoms to bloom earlier

The National Park Service announced peak bloom prediction dates for the Washington tidal basin cherry blossoms on Thursday.

Due to the warm air in January, the trees never reached dormancy this year, the NPS said. They expect the peak of the blossoms to begin between March 23 and March 26 this year, well ahead of the historical average at the end of the month. The peak bloom period can last up to 10 days.

A gift to the United States from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912, over 1,800 Yoshino Cherry (Prunus x yedoensis) trees have blossomed in Washington since that year. The National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 20 to April 14.

Last year, the first flower buds were seen on Feb. 23, 12 days earlier than the historical average and the second-earliest since records began in 2004. Peak bloom took place on March 23, 2023. Winter has decimated the bloom before, most recently in 2017 when a late frost from March 14 to 16 wiped out at least half of the Yoshino blossoms.

Over time, higher temperatures have blossom dates trending earlier, with Climate Central noting the average peak date had fallen from April 6 to April 1 between climate periods ending in 1960 and 2010.

AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva said the weather should be good for the blooms this year.

"While we expect a few cold spells during the month, it doesn't appear like any deep freezes are in store for D.C. The month of March is forecast to be a few degrees warmer than historical averages," DaSilva said.

While there is a chance of a winter storm around March 8-10, which could bring gusty winds and perhaps some snow, DaSilva said it would likely be mainly a rain event.