D.C. Cherry Trees Damaged by Snow

There is still over a month until the 2010 Cherry Blossom Festival kicks offin Washington, D.C., but the recent snowstorms have created an added stress fororganizers. The snow has left some of the famed cherry trees damaged.

Damaged cherry trees along the Tidal Basin near theJefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., on February 17, 2010. (AP Photo/J.Scott Applewhite)

WTOP-Radio reports that 6-inch thick branches have been snapped off in somecases. Other branches are bent down to the ground and remain covered by thesnow.National Park Service spokesman Bill Line told WTOP that it is the worst damageto the cherry trees that he has seen in nearly nine years with the ParkService. However, he is confident that the trees will be fine in the longrun.

The damage to the cherry trees comes after two powerful snowstorms slammedWashington, D.C., earlier this month. The two storms combined dropped 28.6inches on the city's Reagan National Airport. The capital receives 15.2 inchesduring an average winter. This winter is now the capital's all-time snowiestwith a season total of 56.0 inches.

The cherry trees that surround the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., were a giftfrom Japan in 1912, according to the festival's official website. The treesprovide a beautiful spectacle of white and pale pink when they bloom. Thousandsof people come to the nation's capital to view this colorful display during theCherry Blossom Festival, which runs from March 27 to April 11 this year.