Metro and the federal government may be up and running again, but one Washington institution is still hurting from last week’s snowstorms.
Some of the Tidal Basin’s renowned cherry blossom trees were severely damaged by the snow and high winds. Snapped branches and split limbs litter the ground around the Tidal Basin.
“There have been branches and limbs in some cases that have been removed. Canopies of some trees have been damaged,” said National Park Service spokesman Bill Line. He added, however, that the damage was “not at all to the extent that the National Park Service believes the trees have to be removed and replaced.”
According to Line, the park service’s team of arborists will assess the damage in the next several weeks.
Line said many of the problems can be resolved with pruning. “That is what really extends the longevity of the cherry trees,” he said.
The weather damage comes about a month before the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, but Line does not believe it will hurt the event.
The park service plans to announce its forecast for when the cherry trees will begin blooming in early March, and Line said he does not expect that the weather will cause a delay in the blooming process.
The festival, which draws an average of 1 million visitors each year, will run from March 27 to April 11.
