Daylight Saving Time Starts: What Time Will The Sun Set In NJ?

NEW JERSEY — Clocks “spring forward” Sunday for the beginning of daylight saving time, and that means an extra hour of sunshine at the end of the day for the next nine months.

And yes, it also means one fewer hour to sleep.

The sun will set an hour later Sunday evening across New Jersey, just around 7 p.m. for the eastern half of the state and closer to 7:05 p.m. in the western portion of NJ.

For a pinpoint time in your neighborhood, explore the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA's) Solar Calendar.

Why not get out there and enjoy it? Several towns in the Garden State are celebrating St. Patrick's Day with parades on Sunday, celebrating the state's Irish heritage with traditional music, dance, and revelry.

The forecast calls for sunny skies with some wind on Sunday, with temps in the 40s, after the state sees more rain and snow on Friday and into Saturday. It could be a good day to take a bike ride, go hiking, pick up trash around the neighborhood, or do something else outdoors.

Although the switch to daylight saving time is often associated with the beginning of spring, the vernal equinox doesn't occur until Monday, March 20.

Proposed bills in the New Jersey Senate and Assembly (S946/A1365) would make daylight saving time permanent in the Garden State; the most recent version passed the Senate's SSG committee and has not passed the Assembly's State and Local Government committee after being introduced on Jan. 1, 2022.

In the NJ Senate, Troy Singleton (D-7) and Shirley K. Turner (D-15) were primary sponsors of the bill for the 2022/23 session. The assembly sponsors are Benjie E. Wimberly (D-35) and Angela V. McKnight (D-31).

Unless the federal Congress changes things, daylight saving time will last from 2 a.m. Sunday, March 12, until 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5 in 2023. Only two states — Hawaii and most of Arizona — have opted out of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which mandated daylight saving time.

The Time Act could be changed to allow for year-round daylight saving time, as legislation passed in the Senate last year provides. Or it could eliminate it all together in favor of year-round standard time, as some representatives in the House have suggested. The Sunshine Protection Act hasn’t budged since the Senate passed it, though. Related article: When Daylight Saving Time 2023 Begins, Will It Be For The Last Time?

Nearly half (46 percent) of Americans said they favored year-round daylight saving time, according to a CBS News poll last March. A third preferred year-round standard time, and 21 percent said they were OK with the biannual clock changes.

Patch's national desk contributed to this report.