A month from the start of spring, we are quickly gaining daylight

TULSA, Okla. — It still is winter, but we are seeing much more daylight now than compared to two months ago on the winter solstice.

Since that point, we have gained a total of 82 minutes of daylight.

It is most noticeable in the early evening now that our sunset is an hour later than it was in December.

The sun angle is now 13 degrees higher than at the solstice. This not only allows for greater daytime warm-ups, but a more direct sun angle will more readily melt away any wintry precipitation on the ground by this point in the winter, even if air temperatures are below freezing.

So, where do we go from here?

Today’s total daylight is just over 11 hours with a sunset at 6:10 p.m. and a sunrise shortly after 7 a.m.

On March 12, the impact of Daylight-Saving Time beginning is clear. That sunset moves to nearly 7:30 p.m.

Several days later on St. Patrick’s Day, we will officially have equal daylight and nighttime. This is known as our “Equilux.”

Three days after that is the spring equinox when the sun’s rays are direct on the equator. That means March 20 is the start to the spring season, which is four weeks away.

Now through late April, we will be gaining more than two minutes of daylight per day, our faster rate of gain for the year.

Daylight will continue to increase until we reach the summer solstice on June 21 when the sun’s rays are most direct at 77 degrees. This will give us 14 hours and 37 minutes of sunlight for Tulsa.

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