Are the cherry blossoms in Washington DC blooming?
'No, not yet, although we’re on track for a very early bloom–perhaps the earliest on record. The earliest so far is March 15 (in 1990). The average is April 3.
Flowers have started to come out on the indicator tree, which is one that usually runs somewhere around a week to ten days ahead of the others. Most of the trees are somewhere in the first three of the six tracked stages of the blooming process: green bud, florets visible, or extension of florets.
There are other flowering trees in bloom now throughout the region, but the vast majority of the thousands of famous Yoshino cherry trees around the Tidal Basin have yet to start.'>>>
https://cherryblossomwatch.com/peak-bloom-forecast/
= new reply since forum marked as read
I was shocked to see the picture here. Needlessly, as it was taken on March 19, 2012.
by Rachel Sadon in News on Mar 1, 2017 6:22 pm
[font size=1](Photo by anokarina)[/font]
Anyway:
by Rachel Sadon in News on Mar 1, 2017 11:30 am
With spring sprung about three weeks early, it's little surprise that the cherry blossoms will be making an early appearance this year—potentially breaking an all-time record. The National Park Service's prediction: we'll see the fragile pink blooms at their peak between March 14 and March 19.
March 15 is the earliest peak bloom on record, which occurred in 1990 (the latest is April 18, 1958). Last year, they peaked—defined as 70 percent of flowers in bloom—on March 25, as cooler temperatures kept pushing it back.
Depending on weather conditions, peak bloom can last from 4-10 days. That means that the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs between March 20 and April 16, could conceivably miss its namesake.
Around 1.5 million people come to D.C. to see the blossoms annually, and it wouldn't be the first time that an early bloom threatened to predate the festival. Nonetheless, the welcome area and a performance stage will open on March 15.*
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Link to tweet
