The District’s famous cherry blossoms are expected to reach peak bloom on Thursday, earlier than initial projections, a spokesperson for the National Park Service told WUSA9.

NPS originally projected peak bloom — when 70 percent of the Yoshino cherry blossoms are open — to occur between March 29 and April 1, but the agency said warmer temperatures appear to have accelerated the timeline. This year’s peak bloom is in line with last year, when NPS declared they had reached the stage on March 28, but later than 2024 and 2023, when the trees reached peak bloom in mid-March.

NPS projects peak bloom based on bud development, historical data and the weather. The flowers began blossoming on March 11 and are currently at Stage 5, meaning they are puffy and white, marking the last stage before they reach peak bloom. 

“Despite a sunny afternoon and patches of blue sky, the cherry blossoms remain at Stage 5: Puffy White,” NPS posted on X Wednesday. “Peak Bloom can’t be far away.”

The cherry blossoms bring many tourists to D.C.’s Tidal Basin, though part of the basin is closed this year for a seawall renovation project. Construction began on the project in April 2024 and finished last December, but part of the basin is still closed to protect newly planted trees.

Over 1.6 million people flocked to the District last year to see the cherry blossoms, The Washington Post reported. The bloom is likely to coincide with the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs from March 20 to April 12. The festival includes BloomFest, which features live music featuring American and Japanese artists and the Blossom Kite Festival, which is themed “Red, White and Bloom” this year.

Japan first gifted D.C.’s cherry blossoms in 1912, sending 3,020 Japanese trees to the District. The Japanese embassy announced in January that the country would donate an additional 250 trees this year, in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.