Winter in the US has frozen the cherry blossoms that bloomed too early in February. The National Park Service has warned residents to let the ice melt because shaking or forcefully taking the ice away may damage and break the branches.
Mike Litterst, a spokesman with the National Park Service, told the NY Times: "We had this real mild winter to bring the blossoms out early, then when they were at their most vulnerable, here comes Old Man Winter to crash the party." People were to observe the National Cherry Blossom Festival on March 14, until it was moved a few days more when organizers saw the flowers being encased in ice.
The following days will have colder nights where it could potentially kill about 90 percent of the cherry blossoms. People will have the celebration then on the weekends by Saturday or Sunday if the weather once more, permits.
Litterst could not say whether climate change was to be responsible for the early bloom and cold snap happening. However, he did say that the way the flowers are blooming is dependable to the changing temperatures.
On a press release and update on the flowers, horticulturists have examined the buds that they are so close to peak bloom. But since they are exposed from the weather, they are quite susceptible to breakage. They also said that the flowers might damage when temperatures fall on to 27 degrees.
There's a chance that these Yoshino variety of cherry trees might even pushed its bloom up to March 22 instead of the weekends. The National Mall and Memorial Parks and National Park Service have taken to update the public with their Twitter feeds.
For instance, the parks have been observing branches they have taken in indoors and have an early blooming. "Indoor warmth forces these early stage blossoms to bloom, helping us determine the effect of the recent cold weather," they tweeted.
