Temperatures are 20 degrees below normal for this time of year, but even among the frigid readings and the snow on the ground, an important step in Chicago’s march toward spring was just taken on Monday.
When the sun set at 5:04 p.m. Monday, it marked the first time in more than two months that the city has observed more than 10 hours of daylight.
According to the website Sunrise-Sunset, Chicago has not observed more than 10 hours of daylight since all the way back on Nov. 11.
Thursday was another important day for the city, with the first sunset after 5 p.m. since the end of daylight saving time in Nov. 2022.
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The milestones will keep coming in early February, as Feb. 3 will mark the city’s first sunrise prior to 7 a.m. since Dec. 3.
The city will exceed 11 hours of daylight on Feb. 23, while sunset will occur at approximately 5:40 p.m. by the end of the month, according to the website.
For those curious, the city will see its latest sunset of the year on June 27, when the sun will set just after 8:31 p.m. The most daylight the city sees on a given day will occur on the summer solstice, with just under 15 hours and 17 minutes of daylight on June 21.
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By contrast, the earliest sunset of the year will occur on Dec. 8 when the sun sets at 4:21 p.m., and the city will get its lowest total amount of daylight on the winter solstice, when it receives just nine hours and 11 minutes of sunlight on Dec. 21.
