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Mweather in dc4/16/2023 Reinbold on Wednesday said the funding for the project had been secured and the proposed changes were in the design stage. In 2019, the NPS, along with the Trust for the National Mall and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, launched a long-term project to rebuild the basin’s deteriorating sea wall and modify and expand sidewalks to accommodate modern crowds. That traffic has only increased as more monuments have been added to the Tidal Basin area over the years: a memorial to Franklin Roosevelt opened in 1997, and the Martin Luther King Jr. The original 1880s design of the Tidal Basin also simply wasn’t equipped to handle the kinds of crowds and traffic the area now receives. During heavy rains that routinely occur in Washington, the floodwaters completely overflow the sea wall in multiple locations and soak the tree roots with salty brackish water. The 107-acre man-made reservoir where the largest concentration of trees is located now floods twice a day at high tide, submerging a stretch of sidewalk next to the Jefferson Memorial. In their ongoing quest to maintain and protect the trees, NPS officials have to contend with a second climate change-related issue - regular flooding in the Tidal Basin due to rising seas levels. This year, Mayhew said she hopes to match or exceed those pre-pandemic numbers. Last year’s season drew an estimated 1.1 million visitors - close to the pre-pandemic average of 1.5 million. The 2021 Cherry Blossom Festival took place fully under pandemic restrictions with organizers offering online bloom-cams and multiple virtual events and activities. Their brief but spectacular bloom cycle represents, “the transient nature of beauty and the everlasting cycle of life,” he said. Koichi Ai, head of chancery for the Japanese Embassy, said Wednesday that the trees hold “special status” within Japanese culture. The Japanese embassy has remained deeply involved in their maintenance and in the annual festival - organizing a host of cherry blossom-themed events and performances. Washington’s cherry blossoms date back 111 years to an original 1912 gift of 3,000 trees from the mayor of Tokyo. Organizers finally were forced to cancel most in-person events. The 2020 cherry blossom season was essentially wrecked in real time by the creeping shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was moving across the country just as the festival was holding press conferences to announce that year’s peak bloom. Mayhew said she and city officials are expecting a boom year for the festival, which typically signals the unofficial start of D.C.’s tourist season. As a result, her organization has accelerated their own timetable, moving up multiple events planned at the Tidal Basin by a week. “An early frost would definitely damage the blossoms,” Reinbold said.Ĭherry Blossom Festival President Diana Mayhew said this year’s bloom dates aren’t unprecedented, but they’re the second earliest she had witnessed in 23 years with the organization. TONIGHT: Spotty showers with lows in the 50s.The early bloom, by itself, isn’t a huge problem, unless the temperatures drop suddenly again now that the vulnerable blossoms are emerging. Highs on both weekend days will be in the 60s, a little bit warmer than last weekend, but Sunday will be the pick of the weekend with sunshine and highs in the mid-60s. This front stalls to our south and will keep some rain chances in the forecast for Saturday, at least for the first half of the day. Throughout, temperatures will continue to fall, with the 40s in the forecast for your Friday evening. Wave number two moves in just in time for dinner plans tomorrow evening, with more steady rain remaining on the light side through midnight. Minor flooding is possible, with some areas across the area picking up half an inch to an inch of rain. I’m expecting those Watches to expand a bit into sections of Western Maryland. At this point, Flash Flood Watches are across West Virginia, just outside our viewing area. That will be wave number one before a lull in the weather moves in around noon, and we’ll sit under mostly cloudy conditions through 6 pm. This front will push out the 70s and bring a wet end to the week.Īs we start Friday, expect widespread rain starting around 5 am with moderate to heavy rain falling through the area through 10 am. This cold front will be approaching from the Midwest and dive across the DMV overnight and through tomorrow morning. Lows will range in the upper 40s to low 50s, with light winds out of the southwest at 10-15 mph and isolated gusts to 20-25mph. Tonight skies will remain clear to partly cloudy with very mild air in place. DMV, it was our first day in the 80s for 2023!!
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