It’s October: Here’s How Much Daylight Northern Illinois Loses

It’s October 1st, and I know what you’re probably thinking as you look at this cold and rainy Northern Illinois weather: "Where did summer go?"

It doesn't seem like that long ago that we were talking about heat indexes, temperatures in the middle 90s and trying to find ways to stay cool.

Now we're into October, and there's another seasonal change coming that you might already be noticing almost every day.

We're losing daylight. And we're losing it pretty quickly.

plant field under white sky

If You Live In Northern Illinois, Here's How Much Darker The Days This Month Will Get

On October 1st, the sun rose in Rockford at about 6:53am and sets at 6:37pm. That gives us roughly 11 hours and 44 minutes of daylight.

Fast-forward to Halloween, October 31st, and the sunrise won't happen until about 7:28am. The sun will set at 5:50pm

That's only about 10 hours and 22 minutes of daylight.

Do the math and you'll quickly see that Northern Illinois will lose approximately 1 hour and 22 minutes of daylight during October.

a carved pumpkin sitting on top of a lush green field

You Don't Have To Wait Until Halloween To Notice It

The change happens a little bit every day. At the beginning of October, we're losing roughly two minutes and 45 seconds of daylight each day. By the end of the month, the daily loss is closer to two and a half minutes.

There's another reason October can seem to get dark so quickly. Daylight Saving Time doesn't end until November 1 this year. So Halloween will still be on daylight-saving time, meaning we're keeping those clocks pushed ahead until the very end of the month.

Once November arrives, things really start changing.

But for now, enjoy those remaining October sunsets. Because if you're somebody who likes having a little daylight left after work, Northern Illinois is about to start taking it away, a couple of minutes at a time.

And before you know it, we'll be talking about snow.