After some cold and blustery days, it’s feeling far more spring-like today. And temperatures to match, climbing into the 60s today and tomorrow. That’s going to bring out a lot more flowers over the next few days.
These are the current predictions, but it's not unusual for them to be revised as we get closer to peak bloom. You can always find the latest information on the 2023 cherry blossom peak bloom page.
After some cold and blustery days, it's feeling far more spring-like today. And temperatures to match, climbing into the 60s today and tomorrow. That will bring out a lot more flowers over the next few days. But colder temperatures will be back on the weekend before settling back into moderate spring temperatures next week.
While there are already some flowers out (a very small percentage) and many trees are getting close to flowering (a much larger percentage), there are still plenty that are lagging further behind and aren't yet ready to pop. So it's shaping up as quite a gradual rollout.
Heads up:
West Basin Drive is closed. Ohio Drive still has normal traffic patterns and access as of this morning (but expect that to change any day now).
On Saturday, the Rock ‘n' Roll Marathon will result in some road closures downtown, around the Mall, and Memorial Bridge. The Tidal Basin will remain open.
The Welcome Area next to the MLK Memorial is scheduled to open on Saturday.
There's more info on these at the end of this post.
How It Looks This Morning
It was a very pretty sunrise this morning. Some high clouds just above the horizon really caught the pre-dawn light.
West Basin Drive is closed for the Welcome Area setup and is scheduled to remain closed through April 6. The MLK Memorial and FDR Memorial remain open as usual to pedestrian traffic.
Ohio Drive traffic pattern is currently normal, but expect that to change any day now.
On Saturday (March 18), there will be a Rock ‘n' Roll Marathon downtown. Most of the course is not near the Tidal Basin, but it does run along a section of Constitution Ave, around the Lincoln Memorial, and over Memorial Bridge. As a result, there will be some road closures affecting the area to consider if you plan to drive, especially if you are coming from the northern side of the National Mall or from Arlington (Memorial Bridge will be closed). Check the road closure information they've posted as well as a street-by-street breakdown. The DC Police Department has posted another detailed advisory here.
The Jefferson Memorial is still undergoing renovations. The current phase mainly affects the lower level inside, but there's some fencing and scaffolding at ground level outside. The main rotunda remains open. The exterior renovations to the dome are still looking great!
Parking lots A, B, and C mostly won't be available for visitor parking this year. They're being used as staging and storage areas for nearby construction on the Metro line.
