One of the most popular events in Washington, D.C. each year is the National Cherry Blossom Festival. It takes place in early April. People from around the world come to see the beautiful pink and white blossoms on almost 1,700 flowering cherry trees. The city’s first cherry trees were a gift from Japan to the United States in 1912. About 100 of them are still alive. They are planted in Southwest Washington, along the Potomac River and a body of water called the Tidal Basin. The cherry trees are a short walk from a number of major monuments, like the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument. Over 1 million people travel to Washington each year to see the trees. However, there is a small problem. The weather in Washington has been unusually warm the past few weeks. On March 1, the temperature rose to about 27 degrees Celsius! Small buds can already be seen on the cherry trees. These growths will turn into flowers sooner than usual. In fact, this may be the earliest year ever for cherry blossoms. Experts say the trees will look their best between March 14 and March 17. The U.S. National Park Service says that may break the record of March 15, set in 1990.
