Photo by ctankcycles

This morning the National Park Service announced it has revised the peak bloom dates for D.C.’s famed cherry blossoms, to April 1-4. It’s a shorter period than previously predicted, as well as being earlier. They’ve also added on an overall “Blooming Period,” from March 28-April 11, which conveniently overlaps nearly perfectly with the dates of the National Cherry Blossom Festival (March 28-April 12).

Peak bloom prediction is hardly an exact science, so it’s not unheard of for the Park Service’s horticulturalists to issue updates as the bloom time gets closer. They’ve been asked to issue guesses earlier and earlier over the last decade, to help the city plan its tourist season, and as such, the first prediction has become less reliable.