How Much Longer Until Illinois Starts to Get More Daylight?

You've probably seen the funny posts on social media that show people thinking it's midnight because of how dark it is outside, but it's only 5:23 pm.

Just think about how you feel in the Summertime at 7 pm when there's still plenty of daylight so you're like "The night is young, let's stay outside for hours!"

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Compare that to when you look outside now at 7 pm and it's so dark outside that you're like, "It's dark, so I guess I'll go get ready for bed now."

We're Still Losing Daylight in Illinois

On December 12, 2023, there were 9 hours and 11 minutes of daylight. One day later, on December 13, we lost another minute of daylight with only 9 hours and 10 minutes, according to TimeAndDate.com.

We've lost about an hour of daylight a month since October. Two months back on October 13, we had two more hours of daylight with 11 hours and 12 minutes. A month ago, there were 9 hours and 56 minutes of daylight on November 13.

Looking ahead to next week, we will have several days in a row that will be the shortest of the year, according to TimeAndDate.com.

Winter Doesn't Even Begin Until December 21

From December 17 through Christmas Day (12/25), while the sunrise time changes, there will be about 9 hours and 8 minutes of daylight for 9 straight days.

Winter Solstice will be on December 21 and is the shortest day with exactly 9 hours, 7 minutes, and 44 seconds of daylight.

When Will The Days Get Longer in Northern Illinois?

We're not far from longer days coming back, but it's going to happen slowly.

Rockford will have about one second of extra daylight on December 22, another 5 seconds on the 23rd, and on Christmas Eve, the day will be 14 seconds longer.

By January 31, we will be back to nearly 10 hours of total daylight with a sunrise at 7:04 am and a sunset at 5:03 pm.

What Day Has the Most Daylight in Illinois?

If you want to look ahead, we'll have the longest day on June 20 with 15 hours, 13 minutes, and 41 seconds of daylight. Sunrise that day is 5:15, and sunset at 8:29.