DC’s cherry blossoms nearly at peak bloom

WASHINGTON — The cherry blossoms on the National Mall are nearly at peak bloom, the National Park Service reported Wednesday.

The Yoshino cherry blossoms around the National Mall are at their “puffy white” stage — marking days until peak bloom, National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said Wednesday afternoon. Seventy percent of the blossoms remaining after last week’s cold snap are at the puffy white stage.

The Yoshino trees’ bloom period began Wednesday, which is marked when 20 percent of the blossoms are at full bloom, Litterst said. The bloom period begins several days before peak bloom and lasts around 14 days.

The warm weather for this weekend “may put us over the top,” the park service said in a tweet. Temperatures on Saturday are poised to reach the mid-70s.

“There probably won’t be much activity over the next 24 hours as temperatures will be at or below the 40 degree mark required for the development of the blossoms. But with the temperatures forecast for the 60s on Friday and 70s on Saturday, we expect to reach peak bloom this weekend,” Litterst said.

Last week’s snow, ice and frigid temperatures destroyed roughly 50 percent of the remaining Yoshino blossoms and pushed the predicted peak bloom date back again. The National Park Service said last week that peak bloom for the Yoshino cherry trees is expected this weekend — about a week later than initially forecast.

“Peak bloom should still be a sight this year,” Litterst said.