You may have noticed how much earlier the sun is setting. Ever since June 22 the days have been getting shorter and now with October here, daylight is shrinking faster.
We in the greater Jacksonville area are losing about 1 minute, 40 seconds a day. This means from the start of October, daylight shortens 52 minutes by the end.
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From Oct. 1 to the end of the month, sunrises are 20 minutes later and sunsets are pushed up earlier in the evening from 7:11 p.m. on the first to 6:39 p.m. by Oct. 31.
This all happens even before the time change on Nov. 7 when clocks are turned back an hour at 2 a.m. The days will continue to shorten after the switch back to Standard Time, but only slower losing just 37 minutes during the entire month of November.
If you feel the change is all too sudden, be glad you don’t live along the northern tier border states where an hour and a half of daylight is lost during October.
Daylight varies in Jacksonville from the longest day -- 14 hours, 6 minutes -- on June 22 to 10 hours, 11 minutes six months later on the winter solstice.
Just remember to set your clock back overnight on Nov. 6 so you can enjoy an extra hour of sleep when the sun rises at 6:45 a.m.
Switching clocks every year may come to an end with the Sunshine Protection Act, still awaiting congressional approval.
It would establish a permanent daylight saving time in the U.S., leading to later sunrises and sunsets during the four months in which most of the U.S. currently observes standard time.