DC Cherry Blossom Peak: Flowers Start To Appear

WASHINGTON, DC -- A super-warm Friday has helped the D.C. cherry blossoms reach Stage 2 as we get closer to peak bloom, officials say.

The National Park Service tweeted this week that florets were now visible on the Yoshino cherry blossom trees thanks to the warm weather.

Florets are small flowers that mark the start of blooming for the cherry blossoms.

Friday's warm temperature gave the cherry blossoms the boost they needed to reach stage two of the #BloomWatch - florets visible! #CherryBlossom pic.twitter.com/nbcOuCSri6
— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) March 18, 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.