D.C.’s cherry blossoms hit near-record early peak

Exceptionally warm March weather propelled Washington’s cherry blossoms to their second-earliest peak bloom in more than a century of records Sunday, reflecting the growing influence of humancaused climate change on the famed trees.

“PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM! PEAK BLOOM! Did we say PEAK BLOOM?!,” the National Park Service wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) at 4 p.m. Sunday.“The blossoms are opening & putting on a splendid spring spectacle.”

Sunday’s peak bloom at the Tidal Basin, about two weeks earlier than normal, tied with 2000 as the second earliest on record; only the March 15, 1990, bloom came sooner in observations that date to 1921. This year’s peak bloom was so early, it preceded the official start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs from March 20 to April 14, and was also ahead of the earliest projections.

Peak bloom, the last phase of a sixstage bud development cycle, occurs when 70 percent of the cherry trees are flowering. The buds sped through this cycle in just 15 days, faster than any other year in at least the past two decades.

The early bloom fits right into recent trends.

As March temperatures have climbed over the past century, the average peak bloom date has advanced about six days, from April 4 to March 30. Including this year, each of the past five has seen the peak before March 29. Last year, it was on March 23 — more than a week early.

Temperatures this March have averaged more than 9 degrees above normal, ranking second warmest on record. Freezing temperatures haven’t occurred since Feb. 26.