Cherry Blossom Watch Update: April 9, 2014

It’s a sparkling spring morning down at the Tidal Basin. There’s a bit of a chill in the air and a slight breeze, but otherwise it’s a very pleasant morning. The trees are looking beautiful, and it’ll be prime viewing from today through the weekend.

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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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Peak Bloom Forecasts in Detail

It’s a sparkling spring morning down at the Tidal Basin. There’s a bit of a chill in the air and a slight breeze, but otherwise it’s a very pleasant morning.

Most of the trees are in the process of popping now. Quite a lot are now wide open, but there are still many that have some work to do over the next few days.

There are some photos below taken from a distance that give a good sense of the mix of pink and white trees. At this stage of the process, the pink is mostly trees that haven’t yet fully opened. You can see it more clearly in the close-ups. The fully opened blossoms are white. Over the next few days, the open, white blossoms will gradually turn pink before dropping off. (Some of the photos below (and the one at the top of the page) were taken moments after the sun appeared above the horizon, with its own pink/orange dawn light.)

Today through early to mid-next week will be prime viewing. By late next week, the blossoms will probably be on their way out. It’s possible there might be some still around the weekend of 19-20, but they’ll be fading fast. But there will, of course, be many other flowering trees out in the region.

So if you have a choice of going this weekend (12-13) or the weekend of 19-20, this weekend will be by far the best viewing (and also the most crowded). If you don’t have to go on a weekend, today, tomorrow and Friday are also excellent times to go and should be a bit less crowded but every bit as beautiful. Check the weather forecasts, first, though–some scattered storms might hit the area on Friday.

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