It's still cold. Although the layer of snow has gone for now, there's still a layer of ice covering much of the Tidal Basin. And the weather forecast for the coming week is still very much a winter forecast--temperatures below average and a series of possible snow/rain/ice/sleet events. In other words, there's still a ways to go before we start seeing some cherry blossom action.
On the back of a colder than average December and January, unless it gets much warmer soon and stays that way, it's looking like the bloom might be on the later side this year. That said, it's still too early to make any reliable predictions.
It's a cold, overcast, wintry day. This grove is over by the lantern and is near some of the oldest of the trees.
These are some of the oldest of the cherry blossoms trees, some of which are now over a century old. I often use these trees for the updates so that we have a common frame of reference.
The snow has gone, but there's still a layer of ice on a lot of the Tidal Basin. But with a few days of warmer weather in the past week the ice doesn't look to be as solid as it was (but I'm not about to test it...)
There's still not much to see in the way of buds developing.
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.