Overview
- The National Park Service, which announced the milestone Thursday, said peak bloom means about 70% of Yoshino blossoms are open.
- Officials said a burst of warmth pushed the trees through their final stages faster than expected, arriving days earlier than the March 29–April 1 projection.
- Forecasters expect rain and 20–30 mph gusts Thursday night into Friday that could knock petals loose, with a colder weekend likely to slow aging before next week’s warmth speeds the fade.
- Portions of the Tidal Basin remain closed because of recent seawall reconstruction that removed about 150 trees and is adding roughly 250–300 new ones, so visitors should expect detours and heavy crowds during the March 20–April 12 festival.
- Washington’s cherry trees trace to a 1912 gift from Japan, and records since 1921 show peak bloom now arrives about a week earlier on average, a trend scientists link to warming springs.