Washington's Tidal Basin hit peak bloom on March 19, the earliest on record — edging the 1990 mark by one day. Climate scientists say blooms are now 7 days earlier than 1970.
The cherry trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. reached peak bloom on March 19, 2026 — the earliest date in recorded history, edging past the previous record of March 20 set in 1990. The National Park Service defines peak bloom as the point when 70 percent of the Yoshino cherry blossoms are open. This year they got there four days ahead of the 30-year average.
It is genuinely beautiful. The 3,020 Yoshino cherry trees that line the Tidal Basin are at their best for roughly four to seven days, and anyone who has seen the basin on a clear morning at peak knows that the photographs do not quite capture it. The crowds have been intense — the National Cherry Blossom Festival estimates 1.5 million visitors will pass through the area between March 20 and April 13 — but the trees themselves are spectacular.
The part that does not make it into the festival marketing is why peak bloom keeps arriving earlier. The National Park Service has tracked Washington cherry blossom bloom dates since 1921. In the 1920s and 1930s, peak bloom fell in the first week of April, sometimes as late as April 10. Over the past three decades, it has moved to the third week of March with increasing consistency. Climate scientists at George Mason University, which has studied the bloom data in partnership with NPS, estimate that peak bloom has shifted approximately seven days earlier since 1970. The cause is straightforward: Washington winters have warmed, and the trees respond to temperature cues.
“In the 1920s and 1930s, peak bloom fell in the first week of April, sometimes as late as April 10.”
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The more counterintuitive finding, which rarely gets discussed in cherry blossom coverage, is that earlier peak bloom is not necessarily better for the trees. Yoshino cherries require a period of winter dormancy — a sustained cold snap — to bloom fully and on schedule. When winters are too mild, trees can skip the cue or bloom unevenly, with sparse or patchy results. This year's bloom is dense and photogenic. But researchers have documented years in the past decade when warm winters produced a diminished bloom, with blossoms concentrated on south-facing branches while north-facing ones lagged by a week or more.
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Japan, which has maintained phenological bloom records dating to the ninth century, has seen its own cherry blossom calendars compress even more dramatically. Kyoto's cherry blossom data — considered among the longest continuous climate records in the world — shows peak bloom arriving nearly two weeks earlier now than it did in 1800. The trees in D.C. are Japanese gifts, planted in 1912 under Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo, and they are telling the same story as their counterparts across the Pacific.
For this year's visitors, the practical advice is to go soon. Peak bloom is typically four to seven days long, and 2026's warm forecast suggests the petals will begin to fall by March 26 or 27 at the latest. The Tidal Basin is best before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m. — not for any photographic reason, but simply because the crowds at midday make movement difficult. The East Potomac Park cherry trees, a slightly less-visited collection about a mile south of the basin, typically bloom a few days behind the Tidal Basin trees and are worth the walk.
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The National Cherry Blossom Festival runs through April 13 and includes the parade on March 29, the Sakura Matsuri cultural street festival on April 11, and a series of concerts and educational programming at various D.C. venues. The trees will be gone by then, but the festival continues.
There is something worth sitting with in the contrast between the beauty of the bloom and what its early arrival represents. The same dynamic that is shortening winters in the mid-Atlantic is reshaping ecosystems in ways less aesthetically pleasing than an early bloom date. Migratory birds that depend on insect hatches keyed to historical bloom timing find food sources misaligned with their arrival windows. Pollinators calibrated to spring temperature cues are increasingly out of step with the flowers they depend on. The cherry blossoms in this sense are a useful thing to look at — not just because they are beautiful, but because they are among the most visible and well-documented evidence of what is changing.
When did Washington D.C. cherry blossoms peak in 2026?
Washington D.C.'s Tidal Basin cherry blossoms reached peak bloom on March 19, 2026, the earliest date on record. The previous record was March 20, 1990. Peak bloom is defined by the National Park Service as when 70% of the Yoshino blossoms are open.
How long do the D.C. cherry blossoms last at peak bloom?
Peak bloom typically lasts four to seven days. In 2026, with warm temperatures forecast, petals were expected to begin falling by March 26–27. The National Cherry Blossom Festival itself runs through April 13, though the blossoms will be gone well before then.
Why are D.C. cherry blossoms blooming earlier every year?
Washington winters have warmed significantly over the past several decades, causing the cherry trees to receive their temperature cues to bloom earlier. Climate scientists estimate peak bloom has shifted approximately seven days earlier since 1970 due to rising winter temperatures in the mid-Atlantic region.
