It was the District’s hottest day of the year Friday. Forecasts point to hotter days to come. But for now, Friday’s 95-degree high is the undisputed thermal champion.
Washington, D.C
NPS has announced the 2023 cherry blossom peak bloom date
![NPS has announced the 2023 cherry blossom peak bloom date](https://images.axios.com/VwJd0PYxdVEvf0h1XLEva87Egew=/0x0:5568x3132/1366x768/2023/02/28/1677602829326.jpg)
Picture: Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Name through Getty Pictures
The District’s beloved cherry blossom bushes will attain peak bloom March 22-25, the Nationwide Park Service introduced Wednesday.
Why it issues: It’s time! Seize your digicam, pop a Benadryl and put together to dodge the vacationers flocking to D.C.
State of play: It was a difficult yr for predicting the bloom. Resulting from hotter temperatures, the bushes by no means reached their winter dormancy. The indicator tree is displaying a number of completely different phases of blossoms attributable to various temperatures, NPS mentioned at an occasion at this time.
- Peak bloom is when 70% of the Yoshino blossoms on the Tidal Basin have bloomed.
Menace stage: The blossoms can develop into susceptible to climate whiplash occasions if heat climate is adopted by chilly snaps, which is widespread via mid-March, per Axios’ Andrew Freedman.
- Moreover, local weather change has led to rising sea ranges, file warmth, heavier rains and extra extreme climate over the previous few years in our area, all situations that diminish the cherry blossoms’ longevity, as Axios beforehand reported.
Particulars: Peak bloom corresponds with this yr’s Nationwide Cherry Blossom Pageant, which runs March 20-April 16 and marks 111 years since Japan gifted the bushes to D.C. as a logo of friendship.
What to anticipate: The competition will characteristic mainstay favorites and new occasions, together with:
- The Kite Pageant on March 25.
- The Cherry Blossom 5K and 10 Miler on April 1 and a couple of (registration is closed, but it surely’s enjoyable to spectate) and Youngsters Enjoyable Run on the Nationwide Constructing Museum on April 1.
- Petalpalooza on April 8 on the Yards.
- The Cherry Blossom Parade with D.C. native and “Abbott Elementary” actor Lisa Ann Walter as honorary marshal on April 15.
- A Jazz & Blossoms occasion in Franklin Park on April 8.
- A Sakura-Matsuri Japanese Road Pageant on Pennsylvania Avenue on April 15-16.
Editor’s be aware: This can be a creating story. Please examine again for updates.
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Washington, D.C
Friday brings the hottest day of the year in D.C. For now.
![Friday brings the hottest day of the year in D.C. For now.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/TDSJQJTCZ75CNXVZUB35OOXZZA_size-normalized.jpg&w=1440)
However, it did seem in a way fitting on that on the first full day after the solstice, the start of astronomical summer, the nation’s capital should welcome the year’s hottest day.
Scholars of weather and everyday residents of Washington might wish to parse the finer points of Friday’s conditions. But the day, and the blaze of its June sunshine, seemed unarguably appropriate to summer.
It could have been considered a kind of atmospheric calling card, a sign that nature had not forgotten us through the weeks of idyllic spring. Friday, with its 95, indicated that nature remained in the summertime heat business, and had not closed up shop.
But efforts to find some summer comfort amid the simmer were rewarded by relatively small victories. In Washington, the air stirred often, offering enough natural ventilation to carry off some of the perspiration produced by the heat.
The heat index climbed well above the temperature, meaning that humidity caused Friday to feel even warmer than it was. But in its hourly reports of conditions in Washington, the National Weather Services never recorded a heat index as high as 100.
Just before 4 p.m., with the official temperature at the day’s high of 95, the heat index was even higher, to be sure. But it stopped short of triple digits, topping out at 99.
And at that time, as at other hours in the afternoon, a ripple of breeze passed over the landscape, offering a bit of relief.
Perhaps the 15 mph breeze, reported simultaneously with the city’s highest temperature, offered a reminder that even 95 degree days are not beyond the power of natural mitigation.
In the catalogue of unpleasant characteristics of the District’s summertime, the “H’s” occupy a prominent section. Under “H” can be found haze, heat and humidity.
Friday, the year’s hottest day, was certainly warm enough to meet the hot requirement.
But humidity seemed at least near the bounds of tolerability.
And the sky often seemed piercing in the clarity of its blue. So water-vapory haze seemed frequently absent.
Nonetheless, with Friday, Washington’s string of 90-degree days reached five. The city has clearly fallen into the clutches of a heat wave.
It began before the solstice and continued afterward. And Friday, its latest member, edged out Tuesday’s 94, and reigned, at least for a day, as the D.C. heat champion of 2024.
Washington, D.C
Opinion | D.C.’s jail is finally getting an update. Just not the one it needs.
Thankfully, the city’s most recent budget allocates $463 million to upgrade the D.C. jail. Even so, that doesn’t mean some of the worst conditions will be fixed soon. In fact, the current plan puts the needs of only a small portion of those held at D.C. jail ahead of the rest.
Local officials agree on replacing the current facility. The main building, which opened in 1976, has experienced 10 deaths in the last 17 months. Five of these deaths occurred this year. The jail’s rigorous covid-19 policy confined detainees to their cells for 23 hours a day during the pandemic. A surprise inspection by the U.S. Marshals Service in 2021 further fueled outrage, finding instances of food withholding and a strong smell of backed-up sewage.
But agreement in principle has not yet led to shovels in the ground. Official discussions for a new jail in D.C. began 14 years ago, when the Department of Corrections requested $420 million in funding for a new facility. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and corrections officials have consistently argued that the new jail and renovated treatment facility are urgent needs. But, thanks to concerns over a clear execution strategy, any time money for the jail was included in the budget, it was promptly pushed out again. Until this latest round.
Money in hand, now, city officials have to figure out how to spend it to do the most good for the most detainees. Disagreements persist on how to do that — and the city’s current plan has it wrong. The D.C. Department of Corrections released a new timeline this month for the facility’s transformation. Under the plan, renovating the deficient primary holding space would not be complete until 2034 at best. The plan splits up the construction project with into two phases. The city would start by constructing a small administrative and behavioral health facility, then move to upgrading the existing housing for the general population.
The idea is that the current jail has bigger problems than the deterioration of the facility’s physical structure. Broader investment in the DOC, along with enhanced programming, educational opportunities and treatment for detainees’ physical and mental ailments, is necessary to change the current culture of D.C. jail so that its inhabitants can more easily reintegrate into society. And that requires building the behavioral health facility.
But, while accommodating special needs and services is undoubtedly important, D.C. officials should focus on general housing first. Of course, rehabilitation is important for transitioning back to life after detention. But the main facility’s current dilapidated state is not a safe and rehabilitative environment for any of the over 1,300 people locked up. By swapping the two phases and putting general housing ahead of specialized services, officials could provide these people with better living conditions and programming opportunities sooner, rather than leaving them to languish for another decade after so many years of neglect.
That doesn’t mean D.C. should set aside its plans for the behavioral health facility — quite the contrary. The city has an opportunity to join others in the nation committing themselves to comprehensive services for those behind bars, designed not merely to improve living conditions but also to increase their chances of successfully reentering society. Maryland public safety officials, for instance, are pushing ahead with plans for a $1 billion jail, hospital, and mental health and substance use treatment facility in Baltimore at the site of the previous detention center. The complex is set to open in 2029. By allocating funding promptly as well as responsibly, D.C. can start down the same path to providing all in its jail a safe, clean and truly rehabilitative environment.
Washington, D.C
Dan About Town: The Best of Bashes, Balls, and Benefits This Past April
![Dan About Town: The Best of Bashes, Balls, and Benefits This Past April](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6839c-1-1.jpg)
April 10
Book party for Read Write Own at Café Riggs
![ZSC_0461d - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZSC_0461d.jpg)
April 17
La Grande Boucherie preview celebration
![ZTC_2548e - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2548e.jpg)
![ZTC_2548e - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2548e.jpg)
April 17
All In Together’s tenth-anniversary celebration at the Conrad Washington, DC
![ZTC_2067a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2067a.jpg)
![ZTC_2067a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2067a.jpg)
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April 26
The Washington AI Network’s TGAIFriday Lunch at the House at 1229
![ZTC_6459b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6459b.jpg)
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![ZTC_6468c - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6468c.jpg)
April 26
Comcast NBCUniversal/Motion Picture Association reception at the Motion Picture Association
![ZTC_6571b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6571b.jpg)
![ZTC_6571b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6571b.jpg)
April 26
Creative Artists Agency White House Correspondents’ Dinner kickoff party at La Grande Boucherie / April 26
![ZTC_6839c - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6839c.jpg)
![ZTC_6839c - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6839c.jpg)
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![ZTC_7023e - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_7023e.jpg)
April 27
31st Annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch at Beall-Washington House
![ZTC_7950a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_7950a.jpg)
![ZTC_7950a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_7950a.jpg)
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![ZTC_8023a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_8023a.jpg)
April 27
Time/Amazon MGM Studios WHCD after-party at the Swiss ambassador’s residence
![ZTC_9946a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_9946a.jpg)
![ZTC_9946a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_9946a.jpg)
April 27
Comcast NBCUniversal News Group WHCD after-party at the French ambassador’s residence
![ZTC_9632c - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_9632c.jpg)
![ZTC_9632c - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_9632c.jpg)
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![ZTC_9699a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_9699a.jpg)
April 28
CNN’s “Our Cup of Tea” WHCD Weekend Finale reception at the residence and gardens of the British ambassador
![ZSC_5375b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZSC_9315b.jpg)
![ZSC_5375b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZSC_9315b.jpg)
April 10
Book party for Read Write Own at Café Riggs
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZSC_0461d.jpg)
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZSC_0461d.jpg)
April 17
La Grande Boucherie preview celebration
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2548e.jpg)
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2548e.jpg)
April 17
All In Together’s tenth-anniversary celebration at the Conrad Washington, DC
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2067a.jpg)
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2067a.jpg)
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_0947a_zm.jpg)
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_0947a_zm.jpg)
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2059a_zm.jpg)
![ZSC_3912a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_2059a_zm.jpg)
April 26
The Washington AI Network’s TGAIFriday Lunch at the House at 1229
![ZTC_6879d_zm-edit - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6459b.jpg)
![ZTC_6879d_zm-edit - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6459b.jpg)
![ZTC_6879d_zm-edit - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6468c.jpg)
![ZTC_6879d_zm-edit - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6468c.jpg)
April 26
Comcast NBCUniversal/Motion Picture Association reception at the Motion Picture Association
![ZTC_5175b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6571b.jpg)
![ZTC_5175b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6571b.jpg)
April 26
Creative Artists Agency White House Correspondents’ Dinner kickoff party at La Grande Boucherie
![ZSC_1259a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6839c.jpg)
![ZSC_1259a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_6839c.jpg)
![ZSC_1259a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_7023e.jpg)
![ZSC_1259a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_7023e.jpg)
April 27
31st Annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch at Beall-Washington House
![ZTC_8630a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_7950a.jpg)
![ZTC_8630a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_7950a.jpg)
![ZTC_8630a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_8023a.jpg)
![ZTC_8630a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_8023a.jpg)
April 27
Time/Amazon MGM Studios WHCD after-party at the Swiss ambassador’s residence
![ZTC_8685b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_9946a.jpg)
![ZTC_8685b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_9946a.jpg)
April 27
Comcast NBCUniversal News Group WHCD after-party at the French ambassador’s residence
![ZTC_1177a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_9632c.jpg)
![ZTC_1177a - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZTC_9632c.jpg)
Biden-campaign senior adviser and spokesperson Adrienne Elrod, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and Ashley Biden.
April 28
CNN’s “Our Cup of Tea” WHCD Weekend Finale reception at the residence and gardens of the British ambassador
![ZSC_5375b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZSC_9315b.jpg)
![ZSC_5375b - Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ZSC_9315b.jpg)
This article appears in the June 2024 issue of Washingtonian.
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