The Winter Solstice passed over the weekend. But the solstice doesn’t just mark the longest night of the year – it means the days will only get longer from now until the time changes in March 2025.
Here’s when the sun rises in Florida this time of year, what the Winter Solstice is and when we “spring forward” in March.
What time is the sunrise today?
The exact minute that the sun rises for you depends on where you’re located in the state. On Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, the sun will rising between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., depending on where you are.
For example, the sun rises in Brevard County around 7:12 a.m. EST today, while sunrises in Jacksonville and Miami today will be at 7:21 a.m. EST and 7:05 a.m. EST, respectively.
What is a solstice in simple terms?
There are two equinoxes and two solstices each year. Equinoxes occur during the fall and spring and are called the autumnal and vernal equinoxes. They mark the first official day of spring and the first official day of fall each year.
Solstices occur during the winter and summer and mark the shortest and longest days of the year, respectively. The summer solstice is considered the first day of summer and the winter solstice is considered the first day of winter. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year.
“The Winter Solstice, or the December Solstice, is the point at which the path of the sun in the sky is farthest south,” according to Space.com.
“At the Winter Solstice, the sun travels the shortest path through the sky resulting in the day of the year with the least sunlight and therefore, the longest night.”
When does the time change again?
Daylight saving time for 2024 began at 2 a.m. EST Sunday, March 10, for spring forward and ended, or fell back to standard time, at 2 a.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 3.
The next time change will be when we spring forward, back into daylight saving time, in March 2025.
Daylight saving time for 2025 will begin at 2 a.m. EST Sunday, March 9, 2025, and we fall back again at 2 a.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
Yes, the sun does rise and set later during daylight saving time.
When daylight saving time ended and we switched back to standard time in November, the time of the sunrise and sunset also fell back. Now, there is less daylight and the sun rises earlier, meaning at 7 a.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 3, it looked as light as it did at 8 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Nov. 2.
On Sunday, Nov. 3, the sun rose around 6:45 a.m. EST instead of around 7:45 a.m. EDT, and set around 5:30 p.m. EST instead of around 6:30 p.m. EDT. The exact minute the sun rises or sets depends on where you’re located in the state.
Is Florida getting rid of daylight savings?
Florida lawmakers introduced a bill in 2021 that would extend daylight saving time from eight months of the year to the full year.
The Sunshine Protection Act, which is a proposed federal law, hasn’t gotten approval from the U.S. House of Representatives or the president, but was proposed during several congressional sessions over the last few years and was OK’d by the U.S. Senate in 2023.
Despite chatter from the state’s lawmakers, Florida still fell back this year.
Less than a week ahead of the time change in November, Florida Senator Marco Rubio again expressed his distaste for falling back and released a statement that said it’s time to “lock the clock.”
“This is not the first time Rubio has pushed to make daylight saving time stick,” USA TODAY reported after Rubio’s statement last week. “In March 2023, Rubio reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act for the 118th Congress to try put a nationwide end to the routine practice of changing clocks twice a year.”
Will the U.S. drop Daylight Saving Time?
Arizona and Hawaii already don’t recognize daylight saving time. Residents of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas also don’t change their clocks.
President-elect Donald Trump has also recently made comments about abolishing the yearly time change during his presidency.
Here is a list of other states that have considered or are considering legislation related to changing daylight saving time observance this year, according to the NCSL:
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Winter solstice brings later sunrises. When is next time change?
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