Warm weather appeared long enough over the weekend to melt the ice on the Tidal Basin, but winter is back, with more to come. A couple of inches of snow yesterday morning and another inch or two this morning have helped make Washington look like winter wonderland, albeit briefly.
There's no official forecast yet for when the cherry blossom peak bloom is predicted to occur, but the colder than average winter suggests that the bloom will probably be later than usual this year. And from the close-ups of the buds, you can see that they still have a long way to go.
The NPS experts typically issue their first prediction around early March. As soon as they do, I'll add it to the 2014 cherry blossom peak bloom forecast page.
Want to Help Support DC's Cherry Trees?
If you'd like to help support the care and upkeep of the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin, the Trust for The National Mall has launched an Endow a Cherry Tree Campaign. Donations go to the official Cherry Tree Endowment, which will give the National Park Service additional resources to fund the care, maintenance, and possible replacement of the cherry trees. You can find more information here.
The Trust is dedicated to marshaling private support for maintaining and improving the history National Mall area. I'm not affiliated with the Trust--just an admirer of their efforts.