Will cherry blossom season come too early?

Hi guys, I have been following some news lately about the unusual weather pattern ie. on winter temperature and snow count. It got me kinda worry that cherry blossom may come too early this year, as much as few weeks early than previous years. Is my concern unfounded and silly?

I find the trick is to be a little flexible when it comes to Sakura Season. If the season is running early - then just head to the mountains. For most of Japan - it's not that far!

But if the difference is 3-4 weeks, will the mountain side still be filled with cherries? Or maybe I am reading too much into the recent weather trend?

January and February are the coldest months, and there is still plenty of time for cold weather to come. I don't think anything can be predicted yet.

Alright, I won't press the panic button just yet :D

They cannot be predicted yet, indeed.

However, the winter so far has been extremely hot (which may not be very good because the trees need a period of really cold weather in order to "properly reset".)

Also, the long-term forecast (which I feel tends to be rather unreliable) is predicting relatively confidently continued above-average temperatures for the first third of 2016.

So judging from the above facts, the odds point towards an early season at least in souther, western and eastern Japan.

But again, it is too early to make reliable predictions. I think I remember similar situations in which March suddenly became the coldest month ever, and the blossoms were delayed.

Good observation, thanks for the input Uji. We will just have to wait maybe till February for a more reliable forecast. Keeping my finger cross.

Thanks for the input, everyone! I had the same question. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the last week in March! : )