Winter
When does winter start in the United States in 2024? Will the clocks change?
The United States is preparing to welcome winter as the year draws to an end. Does this mean Americans will have to adjust their clocks once again?
Temperatures continue to fall in the United States, signaling the arrival of the last season of the year. Winter will soon be in the country, a period whose beginning is marked by the solstice.
According to The Old Farmers’ Almanac, the winter solstice occurs on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 4:19 a.m. This marks the shortest day, as well as the longest night, of the year.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which lies 23.5° south of the equator and passes through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil and northern South Africa, according to the National Weather Service.
According to The Old Farmers’ Almanac, starting Dec. 22, the days will stop getting shorter, a phenomenon which has been happening since June. This gain of daylight time will be minuscule at first- a few seconds a day- but will steadily increase until daylight expands by three minutes per day in March, the month in which spring begins.
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Does time change in the U.S. in December because of the arrival of winter?
Residents of the United States must change their clocks twice a year- once when daylight saving time begins, and then when it ends to return to standard time.
Daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, so in the month of December, when winter begins, there is no time change in the U.S.
The most recent time change took place on Sunday, Nov. 3, when clocks were moved back one hour. In 2025, daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 9, and ends on Sunday, Nov. 2. However, Americans may not have to change time ever again if the Republicans succeed in their campaign to eliminate DST.
“The Republican Party will do everything in its power to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but it should not. Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient and very costly for our nation,” Donald Trump shared on his Truth Social profile.
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