DC’s Cherry Blossoms Will Hit Peak Bloom March 14-17 [about 2 1/2 weeks early]

Washingtononian ^ | March 1, 2017 | Kayla Randall

[Daffynition]

Washington’s Japanese cherry trees are expected to be at peak bloom between March 14-17, the National Park Service announced Wednesday.

[Daffynition]

Ahead of time. On budget

[lefty-lie-spy]

Hanami (literally “flower watching”) season in Japan is when everyone goes out for a picnic in a park, along a river, etc and drink and eat a lot.

I never thought about it much until I read this post, so I dug up some Japan cherry blossom forecast websites. I even found this one in English for comparison. They take their cherry blossoms very seriously around here. It is a pretty awesome sight when you can walk along a river or creek and see dozens to hundreds of cherry trees in bloom and dropping little pink petals into the water. The creek near my house becomes literally blanketed in pink every year for about a week along a two kilometer stretch. It’s pretty cool.

Japanese Cherry Blossom Bloom Forecast
http://www.jnto.go.jp/sakura/eng/index.php

[SSS Two]

That could be the earliest peak bloom ever!

[Western Phil]

The cherry blossoms are nice with their light pink, but the pink flowering crab apples which come slightly later are also pretty with their deeper coloring. In addition, there are lots more of them.

[Jmouse007]

Danger, Warning: Make sure to avoid letting the tiny aliens hiding in the cherry blossom’s enter your ear canals otherwise you’ll end up “Brain Dead”! ;o) (For fans of the show)

[moovova]

I noticed my neighbor’s zoysia grass has green peaking out already. (NC)

[jch10]

With only three days of winter in Northwest Florda, our azaleas are a month ahead of schedule and are almost through blooming.

[Daffynition]

Fruit growers here, in Connecticut are concerned about a repeat of last years stone fruit crops; 100% loss here. And farmers can't sustain this kind of loss to keep the family farm. I know growers in northern midwest states are worried about the same devastating problem.

Connecticut Fruit Growers Fear Warm Weather Could Be Followed By Killer Frosts

Need to make it past Mother's Day, so bees will come out of the hives, to pollinate the blossoms. Tricky business. Crop insurance is very expensive; many can't afford it.

[Daffynition]

I haven’t checked, but this may change the flow of sap for maple syrup production in New England. Throws everything off.

We’ve had skunks in the yard already, so critters are coming out of hibernation early.

I heard the Snow Geese in DelMarVa [where they winter] are heading back north already.

The Connecticut River: All of this warm weather over the past few weeks is contributing to major snow melting in Northern New England. As a result, the Connecticut River crested Tuesday, flood stage in Hartford. Flood stage is 16.0 feet, and it is expected to crest at close to that level, leading to minor flooding in the lowest lying areas from Hartford to Glastonbury to Wethersfield.