Winter sunrises wouldn’t occur until nearly 8:45 a.m., while summer daylight would stretch to almost 9 p.m. if clocks never changed again.
By Meteorologist Kyle Grainger | Smokies.LIVE Storm Center
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The debate over making Daylight Saving Time permanent often centers on brighter evenings, but the change would dramatically alter daylight hours across East Tennessee throughout the year.
In the winter, the biggest difference would be the mornings. Around the middle of January, the sun wouldn’t rise in Knoxville until about 8:45 a.m., leaving many students waiting for school buses and commuters heading to work before sunrise. The payoff would be more daylight after work, with sunsets delayed until around 6:45 p.m.
The impact would be much less noticeable during the summer, when days are already long.
Instead of sunrise occurring around 6:15 a.m., the sun wouldn’t rise until approximately 7:15 a.m. in late June. Evening daylight would stretch even later, with sunsets not occurring until nearly 9:00 p.m. in the Knoxville area.
The United States experimented with permanent Daylight Saving Time during the 1970s energy crisis, but the policy was eventually repealed after widespread concerns about children traveling to school in darkness during the winter months.
For now, Tennessee continues to observe the twice-yearly time changes, moving clocks forward each spring and back each fall unless Congress authorizes permanent Daylight Saving Time.
Whether people prefer brighter mornings or longer evenings remains a matter of debate, but one thing is certain: permanent Daylight Saving Time would significantly reshape daylight across East Tennessee—from 8:45 a.m. winter sunrises to summer sunsets approaching 9 p.m.
One response
I think I would like it that way if it would be permanent. Of course, I would be concerned for children having to wait for school buses in the dark. But I do think that not changing the time anymore would be good.