Patricia Brazeau already is planning her return trip to the District for next spring because she “missed the window” to see the city’s famed cherry blossoms this year.
The window, known as the peak bloom period, was pushed back for a second time last week after a sudden bout of wintry weather damaged almost half the trees surrounding the Tidal Basin.
“This turned out to be our trial trip,” said Ms. Brazeau, who arrived in the nation’s capital Monday from Ontario, Canada, with her husband, Denis.
The couple excitedly had booked a flight to Washington after Denis retired late last year. But as she sat on a bench overlooking the Jefferson Memorial, Mrs. Brazeau said she was disheartened by the field of brown and bare branches.
“I’m sure the crowds would be a lot worse if they were in full bloom,” she said. “But I’d still like to come back and see them while they’re all open.”
Still, the Brazeaus plan to attend the National Cherry Blossom Festival, a monthlong springtime celebration that typically draws more than 1.5 million visitors to the District, which began Saturday.
The start of the festival usually coincides with peak bloom, which occurs when 70 percent of the trees have blossomed and lasts four to 10 days, depending on weather conditions.
This year may have been particularly tricky for tourists trying to catch the blossoms in peak bloom, but that in itself is not unusual, said Kate Gibbs, a spokeswoman for Destination D.C., the nonprofit that promotes tourism to the District.
“It’s impossible for most travelers, of course, to ever time their trip to D.C. during peak bloom, even on a year where you get 100 percent bloom from the trees,” Ms. Gibbs said.
Festival attendees have not been deterred by the damaged trees, and visitors will continue to flood the city as the blossoms begin to open up, Ms. Gibbs said.
“The festival runs for four weeks, the blossoms do not,” she said, noting that some of the festival’s most popular events take place outside of the peak bloom period.
Warm temperatures in February had caused an early bloom for the District’s 3,800 Yoshino cherry trees, most of which are downtown, encircling the Tidal Basin.
Freezing temperatures last week killed most of the blossoms that were close to reaching peak bloom, but younger buds were unharmed, said Mike Litterst, a spokesman for the National Park Service.
Those planning to see the trees this weekend may be in luck: The remaining blossoms should be in full bloom again by Saturday, according to Mr. Litterst.
“It’s glass half full, glass half empty,” he said. “We lost about half of the most abundant variety, the Yoshino trees, but about half of them should still come out.”
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