DC Cherry Blossoms Delayed: Here's The New Date

If you were looking forward to the first bloom of the cherry blossoms, we have some bad news for you: the National Park Service reportedly has pushed back its estimate to the week of April 8.

NPS tweeted Friday that because of colder than average temperatures -- with February actually being warmer than March -- the blossoms are going to be slow to bloom this year. As a result, they are now projecting peak bloom sometime between April 8-12.

That is a lot later than their original projection, which was March 17-20, or a week ago. The average peak bloom happens around March 31, so the NPS went from expecting the cherry blossoms to peak early to a later-than-average bloom.

Peak bloom is defined as when 70 percent of cherry blossoms on the Tidal Basin are blooming.

"The most likely time to reach peak bloom is between the last week of March and the first week of April," reads the NPS website. "Extraordinary warm or cool temperatures have resulted in peak bloom as early as March 15 (1990) and as late as April 18 (1958)."

The NPS notes that predicting peak bloom is "almost impossible" more than 10 days in advance because weather conditions can have a big effect on the timing.

"The Yoshino trees typically bloom for a period of several days. The length of the blooming period depends on weather conditions," the NPS adds. "Cool, calm weather can extend the length of the bloom, and a rainy, windy day can bring an abrupt end to the ephemeral blossoms. A late frost can prevent the trees from blooming at all."

The National Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off March 20 and ends April 15.

PEAK BLOOM UPDATE: BRRRRRR!!!! With continued colder than average temps (Feb was warmer than March has been this year), the blossoms lack the heating degrees needed to keep the #BloomWatch on track. And with no warmup on the horizon, peak bloom is now forecast for April 8-12. pic.twitter.com/3CkrSNJp3O
— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) March 23, 2018

Image via National Park Service