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Cherry blossoms near peak bloom

After a weekend of warm temperatures, the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin are beginning to reach the full blossom stage.

Credit: Melissa Nord

Cherry blossoms near peak bloom

WASHINGTON (WUSA 9) — After a weekend of warm temperatures, the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin are beginning to reach the full blossom stage.

The National Parks Service announced on Tuesday, April 3rd that the blooming period has begun, meaning 20 percent of the Yoshino Cherry trees have reached this stage.

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The bloom period has begun, meaning 20% of the Yoshino trees are at full blossom. Peak bloom, occurring when that figure reaches 70%, now projected for April 5-8, thanks to last weekend's warm temps. Keeping an eye on gusty winds tomorrow, enemy of the blossoms! #CherryBlossomDC pic.twitter.com/huB8QcOaoQ

— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) April 3, 2018","width":550,"height":null,"type":"rich","cache_age":"3153600000","provider_name":"Twitter","provider_url":"https://twitter.com","version":"1.0"}

The new forecast for this year's Peak Bloom is April 5th - April 8th. The peak bloom period normally lasts for 4-10 days, which can vary depending on the weather.

PHOTOS: 2018 Cherry blossoms

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{"url":"https://twitter.com/MelissaNordWx/status/981249079899500549","author_name":"Melissa Nord","author_url":"https://twitter.com/MelissaNordWx","html":"

The Yoshino Cherry trees outshine the weather at the Tidal Basin. The blooming period has begun, peak bloom forecast is April 5th-8th. Strong wind gusts 30-40+ mph are in the forecast tomorrow, not good news for the sensitive blossoms. #WUSA9Weather @wusa9 @TenaciousTopper pic.twitter.com/igs8yX8p4y

— Melissa Nord (@MelissaNordWx) April 3, 2018","width":550,"height":null,"type":"rich","cache_age":"3153600000","provider_name":"Twitter","provider_url":"https://twitter.com","version":"1.0"}

There are strong wind gusts in the forecast for Wednesday, up to 40 mph. The other factor that influences the sensitive blooms are cold temperatures.

If it drops below 30° at the Tidal Basin, the blossoms could be damaged or killed. This happened during 2017, when roughly 50 percent of the blossoms were lost during a cold snap.