DC Cherry Blossom Peak Bloom Delayed By Cold: Here's The New Date

WASHINGTON, DC — Hold up on your D.C. cherry blossom celebration plans: the National Park Service has just announced that they're pushing back the projected peak bloom date by nearly a week because of an upcoming cold snap.

The NPS last week predicted that peak bloom would happen sometime between March 14-17, but on Wednesday it announced March 19-22 as the new likely date, NPS spokesman Mike Litterst said in a statement.

"Using recent temperature data, the current progression of the blooming phases, and the weather forecast for the next seven days, the National Park Service is forecasting that March 19-22 will be the start of the peak bloom period for the cherry blossoms," Litterst said. "Last week, the National Park Service projected the peak bloom would start between March 14 and 17; the colder than originally forecast temperatures predicted for this weekend have prompted the date change."

Peak bloom is defined as when 70 percent of Yoshina cherry trees are in bloom around the Tidal Basin and East Potomac Park.

Once in bloom, the flowers will last anywhere between four to 10 days, depending on the weather.

Even with this later date, it could still be the earliest peak bloom in many years.

Image via National Park Service