End of daylight saving time approaches: Here’s how short days will get in Kansas City

If you’re tired of dark evenings in Kansas City, there’s some bad news for you. As the temperature cools down, the days will keep getting shorter, with the Chiefs and Royals turning on their stadium lights sooner.

Even before daylight saving time ends, Kansas City area residents will spend more of their waking hours in the dark.

For the next three months, the sun will rise later and set earlier. Here is what should you know.

When does daylight saving time end?

On Sunday, Nov. 3, you will need to turn back your clock an hour, moving sunrise and sunset even earlier.

If you hate this annual “fall back,” you’re not alone. Nineteen states have passed bills opting to adopt daylight saving time as the permanent standard time. However, the laws can’t go into effect until the federal government enacts similar legislation, and the 2023 version of the bill fizzled out in a congressional committee.

How quickly will we lose sunlight?

The days will get progressively shorter in Kansas City until Dec. 21, the shortest day of the year.

Here is a selection of sunrise and sunset times this fall in Kansas City, Missouri, according to the website Time and Date.

• Sept. 22, fall equinox: 7:06 a.m. sunrise, 7:14 p.m. sunset

• Oct. 15: 7:28 a.m. sunrise, 6:38 p.m. sunset

• Oct. 31: 7:45 a.m. sunrise, 6:17 p.m. sunset

• Nov. 3, end of daylight saving time: 6:48 a.m. sunrise, 5:14 p.m. sunset

• Nov. 15: 7:02 a.m. sunrise, 5:03 p.m. sunset

• Nov. 30: 7:18 a.m. sunrise, 4:56 p.m. sunset

• Dec. 15: 7:30 a.m. sunrise, 4:56 p.m. sunset

• Dec. 21, winter solstice: 7:34 a.m. sunrise, 4:59 p.m. sunset

Why do we lose daylight?

As the Earth orbits around the sun, our planet is tilted at a 23.5 degree angle. When North America is tilted away from the sun, we experience both cooler weather and more time in the dark.

Have more questions about fall in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.

This story was originally published September 18, 2024 at 5:00 AM.

Eleanor Nash

The Kansas City Star

816-234-4158

Eleanor Nash is a service journalism reporter at The Star. She covers transportation, local oddities and everything else residents need to know. A Kansas City native and graduate of Wellesley College, she previously worked at The Myrtle Beach Sun News in South Carolina and at KCUR.