WASHINGTON — An unusually warm February followed by a looming burst of cold weather could threaten the famous bloom of cherry blossoms in the nation’s capital.

Forecasts call for low temperatures Sunday of 25 degrees in Washington, followed by a possible snowstorm on Monday.

The cold weather is a problem because warm weather in February prompted the cherry blossoms to bud earlier than usual. The National Park Service is forecasting peak bloom to occur between March 19 and March 22.

National Park Service officials told news outlets that low temperatures of 27 degrees would result in about a 10% of blossoms. But if the lows get down to 24 degrees, it could kill up to 90 per cent of the pink-petaled wonders.