It's time to spring forward this Sunday. What to know about daylight saving time in RI

Katie Landeck, Providence Journal
·3 min read

Are you seeing the daffodils sprout in your front yard? More robins at the feeder? Enjoying the 50-degree, albeit wet Rhode Island weather? Spring is in the air, which means it's time to spring forward.

On this Sunday, March 10 at 2 a.m., daylight saving time will begin for 2024, when the clocks are set ahead one hour. While most clocks change themselves these days, there will probably be a few analog clocks around your house that you'll be changing on Sunday morning.

Here's what to know about daylight saving time in Rhode Island.

What time will sunset be in Providence after the clocks change?

Springing ahead one hour means that sunset will be at 6:47 p.m. in Providence on Sunday, March 10, the beginning of a lot more daylight after the standard 9-to-5 workday. We're also very close to the March Equinox, which will fall on March 19 this year, and having more light than dark in a day, which is good news for anyone with seasonal depression. By March 22, the sun will set after 7 p.m.

The tradeoff, of course, for that later sunset that comes with springing ahead also means a later sunrise. Sunrise be one later hour later than it has been, meaning that on Sunday it will rise over Providence at about 7 a.m.

More: When is daylight saving time 2024? Millions have sunsets after 6 pm as time change approaches

It's Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins on Sunday, March 10.
Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins on Sunday, March 10.

It would be a weird thing for someone to pick to correct you on, but many people technically mispronounce the term by adding an extra s. It's daylight saving time, not daylight savings time.

"Daylight saving time is technically the correct version: the practice is saving daylight," an entry on Thesaurus.com reads. "Still, daylight savings time is so commonly used that it's become an accepted variant ... As some have pointed out, perhaps this is because of the phrases that use plural savings when talking about money such as savings account."

There is a campaign to end the practice of switching the clocks

When daylight saving time starts at 2 a.m. Sunday, millions of Americans will lose an hour of sleep when clocks "spring ahead" one hour.
When daylight saving time starts at 2 a.m. Sunday, millions of Americans will lose an hour of sleep when clocks "spring ahead" one hour.

Do you hate remembering the spring forward and fallback and how daylight saving time messes with sleep schedules? You're not alone.

There is a push to make daylight saving time permanent. Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has been one of the sponsors of the Sunshine Protection Act for years.

"Many people spend all winter looking forward to that March weekend when we ‘spring forward.’ But Rhode Islanders shouldn’t have to wait to enjoy more afternoon daylight in the coldest months," Whitehouse said in a prepared statement. "I’m working to build consensus in Congress to free us all from adjusting our clocks twice a year, and I believe making Daylight Saving Time permanent is the best route forward.”

In the meantime, almost 20 states – but not Rhode Island – have passed legislation or resolutions in support of year-round daylight saving time if Congress were to authorize such a change.

However, so far the House of Representatives hasn't passed a bill to go with the Sunshine Protection Act, which passed the Senate in 2022 and then idled in 2023, so no change has been made.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Daylight Saving Time 2024 begins March 10. Three things to know