WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just a few days into spring and the D.C. region has its first day in the 80s since November 7th, 2024. 

FOX 5’s Gwen Tolbart says there will be more clouds than sun today, but the warmth will make up for it! There will be a few peeks of sunshine, with exceptionally warm conditions today with temps in the low to mid 80s. 

Winds will pick up later and it will become quite breezy. South/SW 5-10mph, gusting up to 25+mph. Tonight, still mostly cloudy, lows in the 60s a mild night. 

Another warm day on Sunday with highs in the 70s to about 80. We will still see lots of clouds, and a few afternoon showers and perhaps a thunderstorm during the second half of the day, but it does not look like a washout.

▶ Watch Video: How cherry blossoms arrived to the U.S.

Washington, D.C.’s iconic cherry blossoms reached the 2025 peak bloom on Friday, March 28, the National Park Service said, about a week after the city kicked off its annual Cherry Blossom Festival.

Thousands of trees with white and pink flowers circle the Tidal Basin and parks near some of the capital’s famous monuments and memorials.

Here’s what to know about where to see the cherry trees in bloom.

Tidal Basin cherry blossoms in peak bloom in Washington, D.C.

Peak bloom occurs when 70% of the blossoms of the Yoshino cherry trees, the most common type along the Tidal Basin, are open. The National Park Service, which tracks the blooming of the trees each year, announced peak bloom on March 28.

This year’s peak came slightly earlier than the average date, April 3, but more than 10 days later than 2024’s peak on March 17.
The timing of peak bloom varies each year, largely due to temperatures, with warmer temperatures leading to earlier peak blooms.

Since 1921, when the National Park Service began recording the dates, peak blooms have shifted earlier by about eight days, the Environmental Protection Agency says.

Where to see the D.C. cherry blossoms

The most famous place to see the cherry blossoms in the nation’s capital is around the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. Many cherry trees are also along a section of the Potomac River and Washington Channel in East Potomac Park.

This year, construction that began in August 2024 to replace seawalls along the Potomac River and part of the Tidal Basin could affect the viewing of some of the cherry trees. The work is expected to last through 2026.

However, there are many other cherry trees throughout Washington, D.C. Casey Trees, a nonprofit that plants and cares for trees in the city, provides a map of where to see the blossoms across Washington. The map does not include trees on private property, the organization said.

How long will the cherry blossoms last in D.C.?

The Yoshino cherry trees usually bloom for several days, the National Park Service said, but weather conditions will affect the length of time.

“Cool, calm weather can extend the length of the bloom, and a rainy, windy day can bring an abrupt end to the ephemeral blossoms,” the agency said on its website. “A late frost can prevent the trees from blooming at all.”

Why does D.C. have cherry blossoms?

Japan gifted more than 3,000 cherry trees to the United States in 1912 as a symbol of friendship.

That year, first lady Helen Herron Taft and the wife of the Japanese ambassador, Viscountess Chinda Iwa, planted two of the Yoshino cherry trees along the Tidal Basin, the National Park Service notes in a history of the trees. In the next few years, the trees continued to be planted around the basin and other areas.

But the idea to plant Japanese cherry trees in the U.S. capital was raised as early as 1885 by a woman named Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, a writer and diplomat, according to the National Park Service.

Despite her first request to the U.S. Army Superintendent of the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds not going anywhere, she continued to ask and eventually wrote to Herron Taft, who helped bring the idea to life, the agency says.

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. 

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.

Cherry blossoms reach peak bloom om 3/28/2025 

(NPS / FOX Weather)

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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.

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

The Washington Monument peeks through the annual cherry blossoms in bloom along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

(Brooks Kraft LLC / Corbis / Getty Images)

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.

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.

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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.