Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 20, 2016

It doesn’t feel much like the first day of spring, but there are more cherry blossoms popping. It’s still a minority, but more and more are coming out each day despite of the cold weather.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016 taken by David Coleman.

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The cherry blossoms reached peak bloom on March 17, 2024. That's the second-earliest on record.

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Latest Updates on the 2024 Bloom
Peak Bloom Forecasts in Detail

The winter blast has been pretty tame so far. But it still doesn’t feel much like the first day of spring.

The weather hasn’t posed any problems for the cherry blossoms thus far. A lot more trees are starting to pop. It’s still only a minority of trees that are flowering, but if you go down today you won’t have any trouble at all finding beautiful flowers.

And as an added bonus, it’s very quiet down at the Tidal Basin, at least this morning. Traffic was very light, parking easy, and the traffic guards on hand for the crowds haven’t had much to do.

The cold weather has put the brakes on a bit, but it’s not putting things in reverse. Warmer-than-normal weather rolling in midweek will have the trees jumping on the gas again. So I suspect that the sweet spot is going to be around Wednesday to Friday this week.

If that holds–and I emphasize the “if”–the better day next weekend in terms of flowers is likely to be Saturday simply because it’s closer to the peak bloom. Sunday might also still provide wonderful viewing. But as you can see in this photographic timeline, a day here or there can make quite a difference in the period after peak bloom. I will of course be posting regular updates during the coming week.

Here are some new photos from this morning.

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms - March 20, 2016