[ad_1]
The cherry blossoms were close to the flowering peak Sunday afternoon at the tidal pool. (Kevin Ambrose / The Washington Post)
The famous cherry blossoms of Washington have reached their peak.
National Park Services reported that flowers peaked on Monday, which means that 70% of the cherry trees in the tidal basin are in full bloom.
Depending on the weather, the maximum bloom can last from a few days to seven to ten days.
Fortunately, the conditions seem to be in line for an extended maximum flowering period this year, which could last until the next weekend or even longer.
After a hot Saturday in which temperatures climbed to 79 degrees, the strong cold front that swept Sunday caused a cold weather. Cold weather slows down the flowering process, prolonging the peak flowering period.
Although flowers can be damaged if temperatures drop below 28, the minimum temperatures until Wednesday should only drop until mid-30s – cool down but do not freeze the flowers.
Other factors that may shorten the flowering period include high winds, rain or very hot temperatures, but none should be.
Sunday's strong winds blew when the flowers were early enough in their flowering phase (considered "swollen white") to still be fairly well protected.
The flowers could avoid another ball late Tuesday night when a coastal storm heads east enough for the showers to be light enough to keep the petals largely intact.
Calm and sunny weather is expected Wednesday and Thursday, which will allow excellent flowering conditions. After a new period of light rain Friday, it is not excluded that some flowers remain in bloom next weekend.
Temperatures later this week are expected to climb in the '60s, maybe 70's over the weekend, but it's not hot enough to wilt the flowers.
In other words, this year's weather could not be better for a long flowering period.
The peak flowering on April 1st of this year is very close to the average date in the last 30 years of March 31st. The maximum flowering took place on April 5th of last year.
The maximum bloom on April 1st is in the window announced by Capital Weather Gang in early March.
Kevin Ambrose's photos
Capital Weather Gang photographer Kevin Ambrose traveled the tide pool late Sunday afternoon with his photographic equipment, filming scenes of flowers, characters, dogs and ducks.
The weather provided a blended flower viewing experience.
While the heat of Saturday attracted a huge crowd, the number of visitors fell from Sunday as a cold front brought rain and a windy afternoon.
Ambrose has selected some of his favorite photos from his Sunday shoot for this post, including a short video showing windy conditions with flowers and gulls. It also included several winter views from spring to tide pool and compared the blooming scene to that of the January 13th snowstorm.
The crowd at the tide pool was much smaller on Sunday afternoon compared to Saturday afternoon. (Kevin Ambrose / The Washington Post)
[ad_2]
Source link