It’s cold. Local temperatures have been consistently dipping down to the low teens or single digits at night, and days have rarely peaked above freezing. The Tidal Basin and Potomac are both frozen and covered in a fresh layer of snow, topped up by a light snowfall overnight.
Like large sections of the country, it has been a cold winter so far. For the Washington DC region it has been the coldest January in decades.
Sustained cold temperatures through winter and early spring generally mean a later bloom of the cherry blossoms. But it’s still possible for it turn around if February and early March are unusually warm.
This is looking directly across the Tidal Basin. Cold temperatures have frozen the Tidal Basin (and the Potomac), and fresh snowfall now covers the ice.
The snow in the background is actually on top of the ice of the Tidal Basin. Normally the background would just be water.
Looking across the Tidal Basin itself, which is covered in layers of ice and snow.
You can see some of the exposed ice next to the retaining wall.
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.
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