By Rusty Dawkins, Meteorologist/Climatologist It’s that time of year again. It’s time to “spring forward”! Daylight Saving Time happens this weekend and this is when we move our clocks forward onehour Sunday morning. When we change the clocks in spring, it seems like we’re getting more daylight hours each day. But of course, it doesn’t matter how we set our clocks, we still get the amount of sun we’re supposed to get. By moving the time forward an hour, the sun is still up into the early evening hours so people tend to get more done during the day with this “extra” amount of daytime. Another benefit to springing forward is that energy use is held down more since lights all across the U.S. are turned on later, but the bedtimes remain the same. People also stay outdoors longer with the extended daylight hours so not as many televisions are on, not as many stoves are on, and other amenities aren’t being used so more power is being saved there. Studies have also shown that with darkness coming at a later hour, car accidents and burglaries don’t happen as often as when nighttime comes a lot earlier. So as you can see, there are quite a few benefits to Daylight Saving Time. This is also a great time to change out the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors!
Rusty Dawkins grew up in Gordon and graduated from Gordon High School in 1991. He then spent a couple of years at Chadron State College before finishing his meteorology degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is married to his wife Melanie and has two children, Bryce and Gillian. He loves to travel and golf, so if you see him out and about, be sure to say hello!