Weather experts are predicting that the District’s cherry blossom trees will reach peak bloom early next month, noting that the trees along the Tidal Basin are still dormant.
WUSA-TV’s weather team said Wednesday to expect peak bloom by April 2. The average peak date is April 3.
The station’s weather experts added that the trees have hit peak bloom before the average date in 17 of the past 22 years.
The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang, however, is projecting a peak date between April 3-7.
The National Park Service is expected to release its projections for peak bloom on Thursday. Last month, spokesperson Mike Litterst told Axios that the park service expects a later peak bloom date this year.
If the trees hit peak bloom after April 5, it will be the latest peak bloom since 2018. If they go past The Post’s projection and hit the final stage after April 10, they would surpass the late date set in 2014 and 2015.
The latest peak bloom date on record is April 18, 1958, according to the National Park Service website.
The first stage of the cherry blossom cycle is the appearance of green buds, which has not happened yet.
The date that green buds appear does not always mean that peak bloom will be later or earlier than expected, since the weather in between the stages also plays a factor.
Last year, the buds did not show until March 11, but the trees were in bloom by March 28.
Conversely, in 2018 the green buds appeared on Feb. 28, but it took until April 5 for the trees to hit peak bloom.
