The National Park Service has this morning revised its forecast to April 6-8 due to cooler temperatures. They judge that 70 percent of the trees have reached the puffy white stage as of today, April 4.
On the ground, there's not much new to report--just incremental progress. It was cold overnight--dipping down to the 20s and 30s in the area, with Dulles reporting a low of 22. That's not doing much to help things along.
There are a few more blossoms out, but it's still a very small proportion of the total and you really have to look for them. Some more trees are heading into the puffy white stage. The vast majority of trees have some work to do before we see flowers.
A reader sent a tip that the magnolias in the gardens of the Smithsonian Castle are in bloom and looking beautiful, so head over that way if you get a chance.
