CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – The U.S. Senate passed a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent across the country. If it passes in the House and is then signed by President Biden, West Virginia, and all other states that observe the Daylight Saving Time change every year, would essentially move ahead one time zone (+1 hour) during standard time.
The only times that would change for West Virginia would be between the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March which is when West Virginia currently uses standard time. The rest of the year is already in Daylight Saving Time and would not change.
Effects on sunrises and sunsets without standard time
The change would cause sunrises for about two months in late fall and the winter months to be after 8:00 a.m., meaning many people would be at work or school before the sun comes up. The latest sunrise would occur at 8:41 a.m. in the first week of January.
The big positive that we would see with a permanent DST is later sunsets and more daylight after work. The earliest sunset of the year would take place at 5:57 p.m. instead of 4:57 p.m., like it does under standard time. In the summer, West Virginia would still see its latest sunset at about 8:52 p.m.
Permanent Daylight Time would also do away with the pesky time-change every spring, where we lose an hour of sleep, and the fall back every fall, where we would normally gain it back.
