The annual cherry blossom season is expected to start in Tokyo on March 21, closely trailed by Japan’s other regions welcoming the blooms earlier than usual, according to Weathernews Inc.’s sakura forecast released on Feb. 12.

The private weather information company said blossoms could appear in Fukuoka, Kochi and Yokohama on March 22, while Nagoya and Hiroshima should keep an eye out for pale pink blooms on March 23.

Trees are likely to begin blooming in Osaka on March 27, Kanazawa on April 1, Sendai on April 6 and Sapporo on April 26.

Weathernews predicts sakura will appear either around the average annual bloom dates or slightly earlier in western and eastern Japan. The northern part of the country’s threshold, meanwhile, spans the average to significantly earlier bloom dates.

According to the company, before sakura can bloom they must undergo the “dormancy breaking” process where flower buds formed in summer enter a dormant state around autumn and then awaken with the winter cold.

It believes that this process has occurred nationwide because of the strong cold spells that emerged intermittently from December last year through this January.

Temperatures in the latter half of February are expected to be around average for that time of year in many areas in the country.

In March, temperatures are forecast to hover at average to slightly above that in western Japan; average to above-average temperatures are predicted for eastern Japan.