Cherry blossom peak bloom dates changed to April 8-12 due to cold, National Park Service says

WASHINGTON - A late blast of winter has pushed back the peak bloom dates for D.C.'s cherry blossoms to the second week of April.

The National Park Service announced on Friday that the peak bloom dates have been shifted to between April 8 and April 12.

A late blast of winter has pushed back the peak bloom dates for D.C.'s cherry blossoms to the second week of April.

"With continued colder than average temps (Feb was warmer than March has been this year), the blossoms lack the heating degrees needed to keep the #BloomWatch on track," NPS said in a tweet.

The original peak bloom dates were scheduled for between March 17 and March 20.

They were shifted back 10 days to between March 27 through March 31 after a colder than average March.

The average peak bloom is April 4. In 2017, peak bloom was on March 25.

This year's festival will run from March 20-April 15.