REGIONAL— This February has been sunnier than usual, but the sunlight’s return during the month is one thing that residents of the North Country can always rely upon. Day length in the North Country changes little for weeks on either side of the winter solstice.
But the sun’s return hits its stride in February, when the North Country gains a whopping 86 minutes of day length during the 28 days of the typical month, an average of almost three minutes a day.
On Feb. 1, the sun rises at 7:35 a.m., but by the end of the month, it will be rising at 6:51 a.m., a gain of 44 minutes. The sun sets at 5:10 p.m. on Feb. 1 but doesn’t set until 5:52 p.m. on Feb. 28— a gain of 42 minutes. That pace continues more or less unchanged through April and begins to slow again as the North Country nears the summer solstice.
As of this weekend, the North Country will be enjoying about ten hours and 38 minutes of daylight, or more than two hours longer than the eight hours and 24 minutes the region experiences on Dec. 21.
We’ll be picking up considerably more light in the evenings starting on Sunday, March 9 when we shift to daylight savings time.