On Saturday, March 23rd, the Kochi Local Meteorological Observatory announced the blooming of cherry blossoms. This marks the first cherry blossom announcement of the year for Somei Yoshino variety nationwide, making it the No.1 declaration in the country. However, this year’s cherry blossoms started blooming from Sukumo in Kochi Prefecture on March 12th and also bloomed in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, on the 16th. Since each prefecture’s blooming date is based on the standard trees designated by local observatories, it may differ from the actual blooming. Last year, cherry blossoms were observed blooming in 34 observatories by March 23rd, and this year, it seems to be later than last year in various places. The blooming forecast on the 13th of last week indicated that Tokyo would be the earliest in the country, around the 20th, but there has been a return of cold until around the 22nd, delaying the cherry blossoms by four days from the previous forecast to the 24th. Forecasts in various regions have also been adjusted to be about 2-3 days later. Although the forecast for Osaka’s blooming remains the same on the 25th, the atmosphere seems likely to bloom as early as tomorrow, as seen in the photo taken in Kaizuka City, southern Osaka.

今日3月23日(土)、高知地方気象台は桜の開花を発表しました。ソメイヨシノの開花発表は今年全国で初めてですから、全国No.1の開花宣言になります。ただ、今年の桜の開花は、すでに3月12日に高知県の宿毛からスタートし、16日には愛媛県の宇和島でも開花しています。これは、各府県の開花日が各地の気象台が決めた観測地点の標本木を基準にしますので実際の開花とはずれるわけです。昨年は3月23日までに34地点の気象台でソメイヨシノの開花が観測されていて、今年は各地で昨年よりも遅くなっているそうです。先週13日の開花予想では、東京が全国で一番早く20日でしたが、22日頃まで寒の戻りとなり、桜の開花は前回の予想より４日遅れの24日になりそうです。各地でも予想日を2～3日程度遅い予想へと変更しています。大阪の開花予想日は25日と変わりませんが、大阪の南部貝塚市で撮った写真の様に、明日にでも開花しそうな雰囲気です。