Connect with us

Washington, D.C

Cherry blossoms in nation’s capital reach peak bloom

Published

on

Cherry blossoms in nation’s capital reach peak bloom


WASHINGTON – The National Park Service has announced that the iconic cherry blossoms surrounding the Tidal Basin in the nation’s capital have reached their peak bloom, signaling what will be the gradual end of the season. 

Every year, nearly 2 million people flock to Washington, D.C., to witness the stunning display of more than 3,000 cherry trees in full bloom.

The annual cherry blossom event is highly dependent on the climate, which has shifted over the years, leading to earlier blooms. 

Advertisement

The NPS considers trees to be in peak bloom when 70% of the Yoshino cherry trees are flowering, marking the height of the spectacle.

While there are about a dozen varieties of cherry trees in the District of Columbia, the Yoshino and Kwanzan varieties are the most prevalent.

DID THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CAPTURE A PHOTO OF BIGFOOT DURING A PENNSYLVANIA STORM SURVEY?

Advertisement

Preliminary data suggests that the 2025 season ranks among the top 20 earliest peak blooms recorded, though it falls short of the 2024 season, which saw the second-earliest bloom in modern history.

The average peak bloom date for the cherry blossoms in Washington is April 3, but the date can vary significantly from year to year, with the latest occurring on April 18, 1958.

The blossoms typically remain in bloom for about ten days, although this period can be shortened based on local weather conditions. 

Late season freezes, rainy or even windy weather can significantly impact how long the trees stay in peak bloom.

Though the cherry blossoms are an iconic symbol of the District of Columbia, they are not native to the mid-Atlantic.

Advertisement

The trees originally came from Japan and were donated as part of a friendship gift in the early 1900s.

This year’s bloom comes amid a major restoration project along the Tidal Basin. 

Nearly 200 trees that directly line the waterway were removed over the past year as part of a more than $100 million rehabilitation project, designed to increase flood protection around the low-lying region.

Advertisement

By the time the project concludes in 2027, the NPS estimates that nearly 500 trees will be replanted around the district, including more than 250 cherry trees, ensuring that the iconic landscape remains a key attraction.

GIANT BUG FOUND AT AN ARKANSAS WALMART IDENTIFIED AS A JURASSIC-ERA INSECT

In conjunction with the cherry blossoms, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which began on March 20, will run through April 13. 

The festival honors both the beauty of the trees and the cultural connection between the United States and Japan, drawing visitors from around the globe.

As the cherry blossom season begins to wind down, the NPS encourages visitors to continue to enjoy the sights of the trees but refrain from touching the petals.

Advertisement



Source link

Washington, D.C

Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week

Published

on

Storm Team4 Forecast: A chilly, gusty Sunday before a cool start to the week


4 things to know about the weather:

  1. Chances of rain in the morning
  2. Gusty Sunday
  3. Chilly Monday
  4. Temps will rise again through the work week

Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.

After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.

The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.

Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.

Advertisement

However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.

QuickCast

SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s

MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s

Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Washington, D.C

‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington

Published

on

‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington


The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.

In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.

“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”

Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.

Advertisement

Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.

“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.

“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”

Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”

A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.

Advertisement
Rachel Reeves posted this image on Instagram from Washington DC on Thursday with the message: ‘Friends that run together – work together.’ Photograph: Rachel Reeves/Instagram

Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.

Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.

But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.

“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”

At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.

Advertisement

The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.

Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.

For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.

“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.

“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”

Advertisement

For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.

In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.

Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.

“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Washington, D.C

Rosselli opens in DC, serving classic Italian flavors from chef Carlos

Published

on

Rosselli opens in DC, serving classic Italian flavors from chef Carlos


Rosselli is the newest restaurant to open in DC.

Bringing in classic Italian flavors, Chef Carlos explained how he hopes his food is a unique addition to the Italian food scene in the DMV.

Chef also demoed a signature dish with Brian and Megan.

Comment with Bubbles
Advertisement

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

You can learn more and book your table here.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending