The changing daylight hours thread

[*Stormforce~beka*]

39 minutes ago, damianslaw said:

Yes the chinese have it right! I am noticing increased light levels, but am in full winter psyche state of mind. This changes around mid Feb. 

 

Eeek only 4 weeks then we can start looking up!

[cheeky_monkey]

the darkest part of the year ..mid Nov - mid Jan has now passed... that's another tick in the box on the way to summer 

Edited January 17 by cheeky_monkey

[Eskimo]

Noticing twilight at 5pm now which is nice. Another couple of weeks or so and we'll all be driving home in the light. 

[ManiaMuse]

Still a bit of blue in the sky clocking off at 5pm. Cloud cover still makes a big difference to perceived light levels at this time of year though. Will probably fell gloomier again on Sunday.

[damianslaw]

2 hours ago, ManiaMuse said:

Still a bit of blue in the sky clocking off at 5pm. Cloud cover still makes a big difference to perceived light levels at this time of year though. Will probably fell gloomier again on Sunday.

Yes the recent fine clear skies last 10 days has been a big blessing, otherwise under grey wet skies we'd still be suffering fully dark skies by 4.30pm, but alas we've kept light until near 5pm. The return of wet grey skies won't be welcomed by me as it will stunt light levels and make it feel very gloomy again. By February though even wet dull days see light lingering until or just after 5pm. 

Edited January 17 by damianslaw

[kold weather]

Very noticeable shift towards somewhat lighter evenings now, albeit one that has been briefly amplified by clear skies. With that being said even on cloudy days I'd imagine it will be more noticeable now compared to a month ago. Within a couple of weeks the mornigs will also start to improve quickly as well, though still a little ways to go before it will be light at getting up time.

[Weather Enthusiast91]

I too am starting to notice the increasing light in the evenings, even more so with the sunny days we have been having.

[geri]

The last few sunny days have made such a difference to my mood  albeit very cold !  Roll on the spring  

[Summer8906]

Personally I've just experienced a second Dark Sunday of the autumn/winter, following October 29th - due to returning home from Greece.

Have been used to night falling around 1730 in the past week or so, but arriving back home today it was a real shock to the system with an hour's loss of evening daylight, and intense gloom as early as 1500 - like a particularly bad December day.

Doesn't help of course that I've arrived back under a particularly dismal synoptic situation. In late winter more than any other time, light level makes an immense difference to how you're feeling. If it were sunny today the difference would not be so stark.

[damianslaw]

Feel we wound the clock back about 6 weeks today. Exceptionally low light levels all the day, early dusk by 4pm. A woeful feeling, by this stage in the winter nearing on 3 months of very short days, there is a longing for a change..

The last couple of weeks brought clear skies and much later dusk.

Into February the change does come, just a week or so to go.

 

Edited January 21 by damianslaw

[Summer8906]

Some unexpected breaks in the cloud yesterday produced my first sighting of the sun after 4pm in the UK since sometime in November. Less dismal and depressing than Sunday at least, though as I've experienced 3 weeks of daylight past 5pm (abroad) it's still darker than I've been used to. Sun probably remained up until a little after 4.30 but cloud returned by then.

Still heavy twilight and gloomy as I type this though - mornings are still dark. Doesn't bother me so much as lack of evening daylight, but what we need more than anything else is for this locked-in Atlantic pattern to go away. We need bright(ish - doesn't have to be sunny, "light" cloud is OK) weather in the late winter to get a proper sense of lengthening days.

I'll start appreciating it when the sun sets beyond 5pm here, I think, and we gain equivalence (light wise at least, weatherwise will be a pipedream) of what I experienced in Greece earlier this month. The 5pm sunset is an important milestone as to me, it marks the end of the intense SAD gloom of mid-winter.

My body clock's still on GMT+2 so the last couple of days I've experienced getting up in pitch darkness, up at 0630 (GMT) today.

Edited January 23 by Summer8906

[MAF]

I mentioned in the regional thread... now getting to 9 hour days between sunrise-sunset. I too am still up in the dark mornings (0530 normally) but the afternoons are now extending to the point i nearly get home in reasonable light. onwards and upwards!!

[ManiaMuse]

Night and day difference between the gloom of yesterday evening and the clear skies today. 

About 2 weeks left untill the first 5pm sunset.

[TheOgre]

First pre 08:00 sunrise today and I’m fairly sure we’re out of the darkest quarter in terms of sunsets; nowhere near for mornings yet though.

Darkest quarter overall ends on 3 February so not long now!

[cheeky_monkey]

  @ManiaMuse im already there sunset here is at 5.05pm today 

[damianslaw]

Just 3 days until we start to see sunset at a later time than when the clocks went back. The 3 dark month period officially ends. Its usually mid Feb though before that first ping 'nights starting to draw out sets in'.. we've endured terrible low light levels this week making it feel every much the dark days before christmas, and unlike December, January evenings feel far longer!.. gosh its the longest month January!

Edited January 26 by damianslaw

[baddie]

Sunset today is equivalent to Dark Sunday in my area, and the suns strength is equivalent to November 13th

Edited January 28 by baddie

[Summer8906]

  @baddie In London, Google is saying that sunset today is actually marginally later than Dark Sunday  (1642 versus 1640).

Having got over the "back from Greece" shock (sunset there around 45 mins later than here) and the last three days being much brighter than the very dull Mon-Thurs period, it does feel like we're on the move in the right direction now. Today it was arguably unnecessary to turn indoor lights on until after 5pm.

[Summer8906]

  @cheeky_monkey looks like much of Cornwall is already enjoying the delights of post-5pm sunsets.

[damianslaw]

Today marks a milestone, from tomorrow sunset is later here than at any stage since the clocks went back. Mind today has been as dull as it can be, exceptionally low light levels and a very early onset to dusk.. by this juncture these long dark days are most unwelcome. 

[cheeky_monkey]

February marks the first month of big gains..should be approx 2 hrs more daylight by the time we get to the end of the month than today 

[ManiaMuse]

More than an hour gained in the evenings here now. 5pm feeling lighter with the clear skies despite it being after sunset. Makes a huge difference from a few days ago when it was very gloomy. 

Sky had a very pink tinge to it this evening.

[Eskimo]

Extending daylight also means stronger sunshine (I know, shock!). I can now feel the sun, the first time I've felt 'warm' in the sun since early november time. 

[Catherine91]

 Eskimo I thought the same thing when I went for a walk yesterday lunchtime.

[Metwatch]

Sun angle at solar noon now is 21 degrees above horizon compared to 14 degrees in mid December, so certainly feeling warmer! About 25% of the lawn in the garden is also seeing the sun compared to virtually none of it during December.

By the end of February sun will be about 30 degrees high. Sunset is also after 17:00 here from next Tuesday.