We are leaving the UK in a fortnight for 3 days in Washington DC from 28-31 March- it looks colder than the UK at the moment! Any weather hints for packing clothes? Hoping to see some cherry blossom, any advice? Thanks.

The weather in the mid Atlantic area in MId March is very chilly most of the time in March. The average temp is in the mid 50s but usually it is windy and chilly. A few real warm days messes up the average temp stats. A more typical day in late March is 50ish, cloudy, chilly and windy.

The most beautiful time of year in the DC area is in late April and early May when the grass, bushes and trees are all a fresh green, and the azaleas and dogwoods out are everywhere.

Good luck during your trip to the DC area. Expect fickle weather!

I think you will be a little early for the cherry blossoms - it's been cold lately in the Northeast (we've had snow twice this wek) and I think thy're not anticipated until April 10 or so.

Indeed, *peak* bloom is expected to be on the late side of average this year, but there might still be some display worth seeing! All it would take is a couple of really warm days and the whole schedule would be accelerated. You can monitor the trees' progress here:

http://www.nps.gov/nacc/cherry/

Fickle is definitely the right word for March weather -- the gap between the record high and low is 62 degrees F on March 31 (85 high and 23 low) with the normal high at 61. By August, the ranges between the record highs and lows are matters of 35-or-so degrees.