Warm January confuses DC's cherry blossoms.

The first half of January was the third warmest on record, and the warmth is allowing D.C.’s cherry blossoms to show some life.

The traditional coldest month of the year in the nation’s capital has been more like spring or late fall and Mother Nature doesn’t have other tricks up her sleeves anytime soon. The warmth is allowing patches of life to emerge at the Tidal Basin with the cherry blossoms.

The average temperature in D.C. through the first half of the month is 47.4 degrees, enough to rank this January as the third warmest to date. If we stay on track, it will be the second warmest January on record, just behind 1950.

To put things in perspective, this January feels more like March or November, when the average temperature is in the upper 40s.

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that D.C. has only seen trace snow amounts since the beginning of winter. This ranks with 11 other winters as the second least snowy through mid-January. . .

To provide flavor: on the last 10 years of peak bloom, the earliest date was March 20 in 2020 and 2012.


https://wtop.com/weather-news/2023/01/warm-january-confuses-dcs-cherry-blossoms/?