NPS Issues First Peak Bloom Forecast for 2015

The National Park Service have issued their first cherry blossom peak bloom forecast for 2015.

Photo of  taken by David Coleman.
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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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Latest Updates on the 2024 Bloom
Peak Bloom Forecasts in Detail

At a press conference at the Newseum this morning, the experts at the National Park Service issued their first cherry blossom peak bloom forecast for 2015.

They predict that peak bloom will likely occur sometime during the period of April 11-14.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that peak bloom will be for that entire period (you can find more information on what the peak bloom forecast means here). And it’s not at all unusual for these early predictions to be revised and refined as we get closer to the date.

I’ll keep the 2015 peak bloom page updated with the latest forecasts. The Washington Post‘s Capital Weather Gang is scheduled to release their first prediction next week, and I’ll add that when they do.

Their prediction is for a peak bloom later than last year, with the very cold February we’ve had and a March that is forecast to be colder and snowier than average slowing things down. If the prediction comes to pass, it wouldn’t be the latest peak bloom on record–that’s April 18–but it’s definitely on the very late end of things. The average peak bloom date is around April 3-4.

I’ve also posted some new photos taken this morning so you can see how they look right now. Here are a couple taken this morning, you can find more in this morning’s Cherry Blossom Watch update here.

Cherry Blossoms - March 3, 2015

Discussion

  1. MY WIFE AND I LIKE TO SEE CHERRY BLOSSOM IN WASHINGTEN DC
    Please let me know when ist the best time to go for 2015
    We are from Waterloo On .Canada & like stay two or tree nights.
    Thank you and my regard,s Rudi Foerch

    Reply
  2. I love your page and have been following since early January! I booked my trip weeks ago with fingers crossed for a 3/28 bloom! Is the National Park Service prediction usually on par?

    Reply
    • Well, it depends. They’ll often revise the forecast as we get closer to the date, particularly if the weather forecasts for March doesn’t pan out as expected. But it would be pretty unusual for them to be that far off. Last year they were spot on with their first forecast (predicted April 8-12 and it ended up being April 10).

      Reply
  3. We will also be visiting over Easter… there is a lot of info on how long they last.. but can you tell me how long before peak they usually begin to bloom? We are also hoping to see some even if only the beginning of the opening of these beautiful trees.

    Reply
    • It’s a bit of a gradual process–they don’t all suddenly pop at the same time. So there are always some getting an early jump and some stragglers. But in general you can expect prime viewing for about 2 days before and after the peak bloom date. Last year they disappeared extra quickly and were mostly gone by about 3 days after thanks to some very hot days and some windy conditions. But you’ll still see some blossoms in the days before and after that, but not as many. Here are some examples form 2012 which are labeled with how many days before and after they were taken.

      Reply
  4. Thank you so much for putting this wonderful site together. I have unexpectedly started to plan a trip to Washington for Easter 2015. We wanted to go somewhere for the weekend and ended up choosing Washington because this is a rare opportunity for us to see the cherry blossoms and I am very hopeful there will be some blooms when I am there April 3-5 even I will obviously be a little too early this year considering today’s forecast.

    Anyway, thank you for the work you put into your website – it is very helpful!

    Reply

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