This week, the House voted to make daylight saving time permanent, meaning we’d keep our clocks on “summer time” year-round. The bill now heads to the Senate, where its future is much less certain.
While many lawmakers support ending the biannual clock changes, it’s still very much a topic of debate — especially in northern states like those in New England — about what the impacts of permanent daylight saving time would be.
What would permanent daylight saving time look like across New England?
At first glance, in my opinion, it sounds fantastic. More daylight after work during the winter? Sign me up. I always find myself grumbling when I have to drive home in the dark.
But as a meteorologist, I always remind people that the atmosphere doesn’t care what our clocks say. The sun rises and sets on its own schedule. We’re simply deciding what number we assign to it.
For New England, the biggest change would obviously be felt during the winter months.
Take Boston, for example. Instead of the sun rising around 7:10 a.m. in late December, sunrise would shift roughly to just after 8 a.m.
Move farther north into New Hampshire and Maine, and some communities wouldn’t see the sun until after 8:30 a.m. In parts of northern Maine, sunrise could approach 9 a.m. on the darkest mornings of the year.
The flip side? We’d gain an extra hour of evening daylight. A 4:15 p.m. December sunset in Boston would happen at 5:15 p.m., making the trip home from work feel much less like the middle of the night.
If Daylight saving time were permanent and universal, New England would see later sunsets.andy woodruffDaylight Saving Time as currently observed.Andy Woodruff
Would permanent daylight saving time change our weather?
From a weather perspective, permanent daylight saving time wouldn’t change our climate, storm tracks, snowfall, or temperatures. A nor’easter will still arrive when it wants to. However, it would change when we experience weather.
Morning commuters would likely spend more winter mornings driving through darkness, fog, and freezing elements during active storms, like sleet and ice. That’s the main concern weatherwise: colder roads in the morning could keep them slick, and school bus stops would also be noticeably darker, one of the biggest concerns raised by opponents of the proposal.
On the other hand, more daylight in the late afternoon could make winter feel a little less gloomy. Outdoor recreation, shopping, and even post-work walks would all benefit from an extra hour of sunshine.
The debate really comes down to a simple question: Would you rather have your daylight before work or after?
Most Americans agree they’re tired of changing the clocks twice a year. The bigger challenge is deciding which time we want to keep.
Here in New England, where winter days are already short, that decision carries a little more weight than it does farther south.
Whether Congress ultimately chooses permanent Daylight Saving Time or leaves things as they are, one thing won’t change: we’ll still be talking about sunrise and sunset.
Ken Mahan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram @kenmahantheweatherman.
