AUSTIN (KXAN) — The U.S. Senate passed a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent across the country. If it passes in the House and is then signed by President Biden, we would essentially move ahead one time zone (+1 hour) during standard time.
Standard time runs from the 1st Sunday in November until the 2nd Sunday in March … so only those times of the year would be different than we have currently. The rest of the time we are already in Daylight Saving Time and that would remain the same.
Key dates and sunrise/sunset times without Standard Time
Here’s some of the key sunrise/sunset times in Central Texas during the period Standard Time would be eliminated. Sunrise and sunset times are approximate and may change slightly from year to year.
KEY SUNRISE DATES
- First 8 a.m. sunrise: Nov. 20
- Latest sunrise of the year, 8:28 a.m.: Jan. 4-16
- Last 8 a.m. sunrise: Feb. 26
KEY SUNSET DATES
- Earliest sunsets of the year, 6:30 p.m.: Nov. 25-Dec. 10
- First 7 p.m. sunset: Jan. 24
OTHER KEY DATES
- Dec. 1: 8:09 a.m. sunrise // 6:30 p.m. sunset
- Christmas Day: 8:25 a.m. sunrise // 6:37 p.m. sunset
- New Year’s Day: 8:27 a.m. sunrise // 6:41 p.m. sunset
- Feb. 1: 8:21 a.m. sunrise // 7:07 p.m. sunset
- March 1: 7:56 a.m. sunrise // 7:30 p.m. sunset
Key takeaways
The main negative most of us would say is the switch to permanent DST would mean very late sunrises during the mornings in the late fall, winter and early spring. Around Nov. 20, the sun won’t rise until 8 a.m., and our sun would continue to rise at 8 a.m. or later until Feb. 26 of the following year. That’s roughly two months with sunrises after 8 a.m.!
The latest the sun would rise would be 8:28 a.m.
The big positive most people would say is the later sunsets and more light after work. The earliest the sun would ever set under this proposal would be 6:30 p.m. from late November to early December.
