SALT LAKE CITY — After last week's warm temperatures, when Salt Lake touched 68 degrees twice, the blossoms on the 433 cherry trees on Utah State Capitol Grounds are beginning to pop with shades of white and pink.
While it doesn't appear we've reached peak conditions just yet, in which 70 percent of the blossoms open, that should occur this week — the first week of April — which is right on track with what experts predicted.
In the video below, experts familiar with Utah's cherry trees told FOX 13 News that this year's peak blossom would occur sometime at the very end of March or the beginning of April.
This is near or slightly ahead of the normal schedule, and weeks earlier than last year's peak bloom caused by the record cold and snowy winter observed. The on-time to slightly ahead-of-schedule peak bloom this season is due to the unusually mild winter observed in Salt Lake City. Winter of 2023-2024 went down as the fourth warmest on record.
Once peak bloom is achieved, likely this week, it'll last a week to 10 days maximum, if ideal weather conditions permit. The ideal weather conditions include:
- Mild afternoons but not getting too warm
- Sunny afternoons
- Overnight lows not approaching or touching the freezing mark
- Relatively light winds
The good news in the forecast is that for the first week of April, weather conditions look ideal to get the buds and colors to pop. High temperatures will approach 70 degrees by Wednesday and Thursday, the warmest so far this year and around 10 degrees above normal, with sunny skies and overnight low temperatures staying well into the 40s.
Make sure you get out to see the famous blossoms because a storm system arrives by Friday into the first weekend of April that will bring wind and cold, reminding us that winter wasn't that long ago and could put an end to the beautiful blossoms.
