Daylight saving time ended. How much sunlight will Northern California lose this month?
The clocks turned back an hour over the weekend, ending daylight saving time and igniting an age-old debate of whether or not there’s any benefit to the time shift in California.
One thing remains true: You automatically gained an hour of sleep in exchange for less sunlight in the late afternoon.
And your mood could take a hit because of it.
At 2 a.m. on Sunday, clocks fell back one hour, allowing more sunlight in the mornings. For the next several months, days will be shorter and the nights longer.
Sunrise and sunset times in Northern California
The earliest sunset this week is at 4:55 p.m., according to time zone website Timeanddate. Here’s when the sun is forecast to rise and set through Sunday. We used Sacramento as the location:
Monday, Nov. 6: Sunrise at 6:37 a.m.; sunset at 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 7: Sunrise at 6:39 a.m.; sunset at 4:59 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 8: Sunrise at 6:40 a.m.; sunset at 4:58 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 9: Sunrise at 6:41 a.m.; sunset at 4:57 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 10: Sunrise at 6:42 a.m.; sunset at 4:56 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 11: Sunrise at 6:43 a.m.; sunset at 4:56 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 12: Sunrise at 6:44 a.m.; sunset at 4:55 p.m.
On Nov. 6, we have about 10 hours and 22 minutes of daylight. By the last day of the month, it will last only 9 hours, 41 minutes and 45 seconds. The sun will set at 4:45 p.m.
What is daylight saving time?
According to The Farmer’s Almanac, daylight saving time is a bi-annual practice of moving the time forward by one hour around the beginning of spring and moving it back within the first couple of weeks of fall.
“The general idea is that this allows us all to use natural daylight better: moving the clocks forward one hour in the spring grants us more daylight during summer evenings, while moving clocks back one hour in the fall grants us more daylight during winter mornings,” the 18th-century periodical wrote on its website.
When did daylight savings time end?
Daylight savings time ended the first Sunday in November. This year, the time change took effect on Sunday, Nov. 5.
When does daylight saving time start again?
Daylight saving time will start again on March 10, 2024, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. At 2 a.m., clocks will “spring forward” by one hour.
This story was originally published November 6, 2023 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Daylight saving time ended. How much sunlight will Northern California lose this month?."