What would permanent daylight saving time mean in Sioux Falls?

An effort by Congress to make daylight saving time permanent would mean darker mornings and lighter evenings in Sioux Falls — if it passes.

According to the National Weather Service, if we no longer turned our clocks back in November, the latest sunrise would be at 9 a.m.

“Probably the biggest impact it would have is if we keep the same times for buses to schools. It’s going to be dark for when kids go to school for probably a month,” meteorologist Phil Schumacher said. “If you get on a  bus at 7:30 a.m. and sunrise is 9 a.m., it could be a two-month period when you’re going to school before sunrise.”

On the plus side, the earliest sunset would be 5:51 p.m. — an hour later than it currently is.

While the bill, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, passed the U.S. Senate unanimously, the U.S. House hasn’t scheduled a time to consider it yet and might delay it because of other matters, including Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“We didn’t realize they were acting so quickly and dispositively of it,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told The Hill of the legislation. “I, myself, support making daylight saving time permanent. I think it’s not going to be much of an issue for us. But we have to socialize it in our caucus, and our Congress, not just the caucus.”

Since the initial vote, proponents and opponents have surfaced. Both argue on behalf of health implications, with those favoring the change saying more daylight in the evenings makes people happier as they spend more time outdoors — and increases economic activity. Others argue rising so long before the sun isn’t a fit for natural sleep cycles, including for students, and that sleep deprivation could lead to a wide range of other problems.

Daylight saving time was initiated in Germany during World War I to conserve fuel. It was tried in the U.S. shortly after that, repealed, brought back during World War II and made standard in 1966. The premise has been that it’s a way to save energy, though studies have shown the effect is minimal and potentially offset by using more air conditioning.

The current proposal would take effect in November 2023.

Long-term weather outlook

Since we checked in on future sunrises and sunsets with the National Weather Service, we also asked about how the coming weeks and months are looking weatherwise in Sioux Falls.

The next couple of weeks are looking “not as nice as one would like, I suppose,” Schumacher said. “There are chances for rain … but it’s a little iffy. If we could get a little rain, that would help a lot of people. We need to get moisture.”

The outlook for the next three months is trending toward above-normal temperatures and a slightly higher chance of dryer than normal precipitation.

“Both put together are not great if we want to get rid of the dry conditions we’ve had the last two years,” Schumacher said. “It’s not a strong signal, so there’s a chance we could get enough rain, but overall not great news if you want to see us get more water in the ground for spring.”

And don’t rule out snow returning in April, he added.

“We typically get one event in April, so we can’t completely say it’s done,” he said. “The likelihood of keeping snow for multiple days is probably done. But we can still get snow mid- to late April.”