Its only Feb. 21, but these cherry blossoms dont care.
'For the second winter in a row, exceptional warmth has been the theme in Washington. We can hardly remember the biting cold that rang in the New Year now that the temperature is 80 degrees the earliest on record in the District.
Predictably, plants are starting to come out of their dormancy. Buds are sprouting on trees and bushes, and cherry blossoms actual blossoms are popping out on the Mall. Things arent as far along as they were at this point last year, but were seeing signals an early bloom is possible. Of course, as we saw last year, that can mean trouble.
The early-blooming cherry trees will be the first to pop. Thats what were seeing on the Mall near the Washington Monument and also across the river in Arlington. Around the Tidal Basin, we have yet to see anything significant from the Yoshino variety of cherry tree, which is what all of the cherry blossom festivities revolve around. The Yoshinos were originally planted by first lady Helen Taft and Iwa Chinda, the wife of the Japanese ambassador, in 1912. It may be weeks before those trees bloom.'>>>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/02/21/winter-warmth-means-cherry-blossoms-could-peak-early-in-d-c/?utm_term=.ef0b825bf2f9