2019 DC Cherry Blossom Peak Bloom: Flowers Take Big Step Forward

WASHINGTON, DC -- Big news, cherry blossom fans: over the weekend, the Yoshino cherry blossom trees in D.C. took a big step toward 2019 peak bloom.

The trees reached the "extension of florets" stage on Saturday and on Monday moved right into the "peduncle elongation" phase.

That means there are just two phases left: the puffy white stage and then peak bloom, which is forecast for sometime around April 3-6.

DC CHERRY BLOSSOMS UPDATE - PEDUNCLE ELONGATION is here. 2 more stages until Peak Bloom! #wusa9weather @wusa9 @hbwx @tenacioustopper @miriweather https://t.co/CEhmp4fMjF pic.twitter.com/eN5nJLjctw
— Melissa Nord (@MelissaNordWx) March 25, 2019

The NPS is predicting that peak bloom will happen sometime in early April, but that is a moving target that depends heavily on the weather leading up to that date.

If the cherry blossoms do peak in early April, that will be a little bit later than the 30-year average of March 31, but right on time for the 1921-2018 average of April 3, says the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang.

Last year, peak bloom happened April 5 after a cold and snowy March.

"The most likely time to reach peak bloom is between the last week of March and the first week of April," reads the NPS website. "Extraordinary warm or cool temperatures have resulted in peak bloom as early as March 15 (1990) and as late as April 18 (1958)."

The NPS notes that predicting peak bloom is "almost impossible" more than 10 days in advance because weather conditions can have a big effect on the timing.

The Yoshino cherry blossom trees that line the Tidal Basin were a gift from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of D.C. back on March 27, 1912. Ever since then, the peak bloom of the cherry blossoms has served as the unofficial start to spring for the D.C. area.