Photo by bhrome

When the National Park Service announced the peak bloom period for the city’s famed cherry blossoms two weeks ago, it probably didn’t expect that we’d have a week’s worth of May-like temperatures. But that’s exactly what we’re getting, and as such, the peak bloom has been moved up.

The Post’s Capital Weather Gang reports that the cherry blossoms will likely be at their peak between March 18-22, ahead of the March 24-31 frame originally announced by the park service earlier this month. The earliest the blossoms bloomed was on March 17, 2000.

One of the big factor’s driving the earlier bloom dates is nighttime temperatures—with milder evenings and nights, the blooming process doesn’t slow down as it normally would.