Cherry blossom season has officially arrived in Toronto, and colourful sakura trees are now approaching full bloom in popular hotspots like High Park.

The first cherry blossoms began to bloom over an unseasonably warm weekend of summer-like weather in Toronto, and are well on the way to reaching peak bloom in the coming days, with prime conditions expected Thursday, April 20.

According to the latest edition of the Sakura Watch blog, posted at the start of the week, "even this cold, rainy Monday was brightened with the white blooms scattered amongst the trees signalling that the bloom had begun."

Colourful displays are now evident in High Park and other cherry blossom viewing spots like Trinity Bellwoods, with peak bloom expected to arrive Thursday.

Up to 45 per cent of blossoms had opened to reveal their pink petals at High Park as of Monday, over halfway to the 75 per cent mark where the trees are considered to have reached peak bloom.

Sakura Watch expects High Park to reach this mark tomorrow, with peak conditions ending on April 28th. But anyone planning a weekend visit to High Park should consider bringing an umbrella.

Rainy and cloudy conditions in Toronto for the latter half of the week and into the weekend could make for a miserable viewing experience in the coming days, and Wednesday afternoon might offer one of the better opportunities to check out the blossoms pre-peak.

Small pockets of decent weather are expected on Thursday, though rain may hamper any weekend viewing plans for cherry blossom watchers.

There should be further opportunities to check out the bloom next week if the weather cooperates. If rainfall and winds remain light, most of the cherry blossoms should withstand the weather and continue to bloom.

However, less favourable conditions could bring about an early end to this year's cherry blossom season.