2017 Cherry Blossoms Update: Blossoms at 'Puffy White' Stage, Peak Bloom Imminent

WASHINGTON, DC — It's a chilly Thursday as peak bloom of the cherry blossoms gets ever closer, and there's an encouraging new report from the National Park Service: they've reached the "puffy white" stage.

Mike Litterst, a spokesman for NPS, said in a statement that 70 percent of the Yoshino cherry blossoms that survived the cold snap reached the puffy white stage on Wednesday. Half of the Yoshino blossoms didn't survive last week's cold.

"The Yoshino trees are also at the start of the bloom period as of today, defined as when 20% of the blossoms are at full bloom," Litterst said. "The bloom period starts several days before the peak bloom date and can last as long as 14 days, however, deep frost or high temperatures combined with wind or rain can shorten this period."

Litterst added that there probably wouldn't be much activity in the next 24 hours with temperatures plunging below 40 degrees, the minimum threshold for the development of the blossoms. But temperatures are expected to soar into the 60s on Friday and 70s on Saturday, so expect a gorgeous peak bloom this weekend.

The Tidal Basin is already bathed in white, and that should shift to a beautiful pink in just a couple days, so make your weekend plans accordingly.

Cherry Blossoms in Washington, DC! #CherryBlossomDC https://t.co/IdT5sMFkSV pic.twitter.com/Php7UzKXlU
— Toshio (@ToshioK) March 23, 2017

Image via National Park Service