2019 Cherry Blossom Peak Bloom Forecasts
'When will Washington DC's cherry blossoms reach peak bloom in 2019?
It's still too early to tell when Washington DC's cherry blossoms will bloom in 2019. It's generally sometime around the end of March through early April, but precisely when depends largely on the weather (particularly temperatures) in the months leading up to that. Warmer temperatures bring them out earlier; cooler temperatures slow things down and bring them out later.
No peak bloom forecasts have been issued for 2019 yet. The National Park Service will be issuing their initial peak bloom forecast on March 6.
So far the 2018-19 winter has been warmer than normal. Although you wouldn't think so from some of the cold weather we've seen. In mid-January, we saw a large snowstorm blanket the area with about 10 inches of snow. Shortly after that, a blast of cold Arctic area came down and gave us lows in the teens. And a couple of weeks after that, we saw a second Arctic blast that was even colder, and while it didn't bring the brutal chill of places further north like Chicago, we saw temperatures down in single digits.
Despite those spells of decidedly wintry weather, the average temperature over the whole of January ended up slightly above normal. And that has continued through February, with a monthly average a few degrees above the historical average. We're also seeing the very first spring flowers starting to come out.
A cold snap is expected to hit in early March, with cooler-than-average temperatures into the first couple of weeks. If that pans out, it will slow things down.'
https://cherryblossomwatch.com/peak-bloom-forecast/