DC’s cherry blossoms nearly at peak bloom

The warm weather for this weekend “may put us over the top,” the park service said. (Courtesy National Park Service)
The warm weather for this weekend “may put us over the top,” the park service said. (Courtesy National Park Service)
Cherry blossoms at the puffy white stages Wednesday. (Courtesy National Park Service)
"There is a lot of white around the Tidal Basin already," the National Park Service said Wednesday. (Courtesy National Park Service)
“There is a lot of white around the Tidal Basin already,” the National Park Service said Wednesday. (Courtesy National Park Service)
(1/3)
The warm weather for this weekend “may put us over the top,” the park service said. (Courtesy National Park Service)
"There is a lot of white around the Tidal Basin already," the National Park Service said Wednesday. (Courtesy National Park Service)

Get everything you need to know about visiting the cherry blossoms via WTOP’s Cherry Blossoms page.

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.

Sarah Beth Hensley

Sarah Beth Hensley is the Digital News Director at WTOP. She has worked several different roles since she began with WTOP in 2013 and has contributed to award-winning stories and coverage on the website.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up