2017 Cherry Blossoms Peak Bloom: New Date Just Announced

WASHINGTON, DC — The National Park Service has just announced new dates for the 2017 peak bloom of the cherry blossoms, and not surprisingly, it's been pushed back again. The National Park Service now says that the cherry blossoms will bloom "late next week," which would put it in the March 23-26 time frame.

The original peak bloom was March 14-17, then it was pushed to March 19-22, and then a surprise snowstorm swept through the area. In addition to the delay, the NPS estimates that about half the cherry blossoms didn't survive the cold snap.

It could have been a lot worse, however.

"Although the bitter cold temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week killed virtually all of the blossoms that had reached 'puffy white,' (the fifth of six stages in the bloom cycle), blossoms from earlier stages forced open showed little if any damage," NPS spokesman Mike Litterst said in a statement. "The earliest stage affected by the cold were peduncle elongation (stage four), but only approximately 5% of those blossoms appear to show damage. As of last Friday, the day the cold weather set in, approximately 50% of the cherry trees were peduncle elongation or earlier in the bloom process."

Although NPS says the peak bloom should happen late next week, they are declining to put specific dates on it as they have in the past because of the damage to so many emerging blossoms.

"The weather models used to project the peak bloom (counting 'heating degrees' based on daily temperatures after the trees reach winter dormancy), are no longer useful, as so many blossoms that would have been the first to bloom are dead," Litterst added. "However, using historic data and the current forecasts, horticulturalists expect peak bloom is likely to occur sometime next weekend."

Regardless of the cherry blossoms' new schedule, the 2017 National Cherry Blossom Festival opens on Saturday, March 18 and will last for four weeks, and the weather should be quite nice over that period, according to forecasts.

Image via NPS