Cherry blossoms reach 'peduncle elongation' stage; peak bloom likely about a week away.
'Thanks to mild weather, cherry blossom buds at the Tidal Basin are rapidly progressing through their six-stage cycle and have advanced to stage 4: peduncle elongation. Historically, when the cherry trees reach this stage, peak bloom is just six to 10 days away.
During peduncle elongation, the stalks bearing the blossom buds extend and the flowers become visible. When the buds reach their next stage, known as “puffy white,” the flowers begin to open. That could occur as soon as this weekend. Peak bloom usually occurs a few days later, defined as the day when 70 percent of the blossoms are open.
Given somewhat warmer-than-average temperatures forecast over the next 10 days, peak bloom should occur sometime between the tail end of March and first several days of April, in line with our forecast.
Assuming peak bloom occurs around April 1, that will be close to the recent 30-year average.
March 15, 1990, marks the earliest peak bloom on record while April 18, 1958, is the latest peak. Last year, peak bloom occurred March 20, tied for the third-earliest on record.'
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/03/25/cherry-blossoms-peduncle-elongation/?
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