It was the end of the year’s first quarter, and in D.C., Sunday was warm, it was spring, the cherry blossoms were still in bloom and it was Easter.
It was a day of many qualities and distinctions, and one of the easiest to describe was the temperature. The high in Washington was 67 degrees. That was five degrees above the Washington average high for the date, and it seemed pleasant.
The morning’s low temperature was not particularly low. That was something of a departure for early spring. At this time of year, as warmer weather finds a foothold, moderate afternoons may often follow chilly mornings.
But Sunday’s 47 degree low was four above D.C.’s average for March 31.
With both the high and the low being above average, the combination of the two was also above average, four degrees above by National Weather Service calculation.
In fact, among Sunday’s arithmetical and meteorological distinctions was its place in the rankings of days by their adherence to the average.
Sunday was the most above average day in Washington in the last third of the month. Its temperature exceeded the average by more than any March day since the 20th, which was six degrees above.
Perhaps one of the more salient features by which Sunday may be known was the persistence of the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin. As much as for their beauty, the delicate flowers are known for the fleeting nature of their bloom.
But many survived the natural and temporal forces arrayed against them to remain on the trees and branches for a third Sunday.
In a tweet posted Sunday, the Mall division of the National Park Service recognized the uncommon nature of the this year’s flowering. It said: “Three weekends of cherry blossoms is a gift.”
