High Park cherry blossoms to start blooming this weekend

The High Park cherry blossoms have progressed faster than expected, which means the annual viewing carnival will get underway as early as this weekend.

While peak bloom will still likely happen closer to the end of the month, observation over the weekend reveals that the sakura trees are poised to start blossoming over the coming days and could already be putting on an impressive display by April 21.

Previous forecasts called for peak bloom in early May, but that's moved up by at least a week thanks to the warm weather.

"Near summer like weather this past weekend has accelerated the pace of bud development to the point where all the trees are now in a clear stage five of development," notes prediction site Sakura in High Park.

"Call it an Easter miracle, a sign of climate change or an answer to wishes of thousands of eager Toronto blossom fans... the revised dates for peak bloom are between April 21 to April 28, 2017."

While temperatures are not expected to be as high as those we saw this past weekend, it looks like we should avoid frost during this crucial period of development when the florets start showing deep pink blossoms.

If we're lucky, the next two weekends could make for good viewing, though the true peak might be mid-week. There's still some variability on account of the weather.

In any case, start planning your spring pilgrimage to High Park now. Word to the wise, leave the car behind. It's a short walk from the subway, and the parking lots in the park are a complete mess during cherry blossom season.