Watch: Cherry blossoms flourish early in Seattle and Washington, DC

Watch a video feed from Washington, DC and Seattle as cherry blossom trees reach peak bloom on Tuesday, 19 March.

The pink and white blossoms around the Tidal Basin in DC have hit their earliest peak bloom recorded in at least 20 years, according to the National Park Service.

Officials from the National Mall and Memorial Parks announced that peak bloom had been reached on Sunday, 17 March; it had originally been predicted to be between 23 and 26 March.

In Seattle, the warm weather over the weekend pushed its Yoshino blossoms to full bloom by Tuesday, University of Washington officials said.

Washington, DC, observes the National Cherry Blossom Festival to celebrate the 3,000 trees between 20 March and 14 April.

It honours Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki’s gift of the trees back in 1912.