While (most) of the Chicago area slept on Sunday morning, clocks sprung ahead by an hour as daylight saving time got underway.
The annual time change, which occurs at 2 a.m., kicks off nearly eight months of later sunsets and is another milestone on the march to warmer days across the United States.
But what happens next? When will the longest day of the year arrive? And when will the clocks roll back, restoring the hour of sleep we all lost on Sunday morning?
Here’s what you need to know.
What impact will this have on sunset times?
In the span of one day, sunsets will jump from occurring just before 6 p.m. to occurring just before 7 p.m., according to TimeAndDate.com.
By next Sunday, the sun will be setting at 7 p.m., and we will also hit another important milestone, as we will have more than 12 hours of daylight for the first time since Sept. 25, 2023.
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In fact, by the end of the month we will be experiencing just under 12 hours and 45 minutes of daylight in the Chicago area.
When is the longest day of the year?
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The latest sunset of the year will arrive in mid-to-late June when the sun will go down at approximately 8:29 p.m. in the Chicago area, but the precise longest day of the year will occur on June 20, when the city will receive 15 hours, 13 minutes and 41 seconds of daylight.
After that, days will very slowly begin to grow shorter, though it will only occur in increments of fewer than 30 seconds each day through the end of June.
When will clocks roll back?
Naturally, the big question with daylight saving time is when it will end, and as always, that date will occur in early November, with the federal government mandating that clocks roll back on the first Sunday of the month.
In 2024, that will fall on Nov. 3, with the sun setting at 4:41 p.m. as DST wraps up.
