Cherry blossoms could hit peak bloom in next week as temperatures soar
Boosted by exceptionally mild weather, the cherry blossom buds continue to race toward peak bloom at near record speeds.
On Tuesday afternoon, the National Park Service announced that the blossom buds reached Stage 4 out of 6, or “peduncle elongation.” On average peak bloom occurs about seven to 10 days after this stage.
This means we could be close to peak bloom by the weekend and hitting peak early next week.
Late this week will be an excellent time to catch an early look at the blossoms, beginning a one-to-two-week stretch when you can take in the flowery scenes.
As a sign of how fast the buds are progressing, the cherry blossom “indicator tree” at the Tidal Basin — which typically is about a week ahead of the others — reached peak bloom this past weekend, Leslie Frattaroli
If peak bloom for the rest of the trees occurs within a week, which is possible considering a very warm forecast, it will rank among the earliest on record.
Temperatures have averaged 7 degrees above normal so far this month and, significantly, there have been no freezing nights, which tend to slow bud development.