When Will Sun Set Before 5pm Here in Colorado and WHY?!

By Melissa Moore on October 23, 2023

RIO GRANDE NATIONAL FOREST, COLORADO – SEPTEMBER 23: Cinnamon Pass, approximately 11 miles near Canby Mountain, is seen at sunset on September 23, 2023 in Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado. Sitting 13,478 ft in elevation, Canby Mountain is situated on the Continental Divide high in the San Juan mountains. The headwaters of the Rio Grande River form on the eastern side of the mountain’s base. The 1,885 mile-long river, which supplies water for over 12 million people, begins as a small stream from precipitation and gains momentum as it is joined by the Pecos, Devils, Chama, and Puerco rivers in the United States. As the Rio Grande makes its way Southeast down through New Mexico and Texas, it eventually meets the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, Texas. An increasingly arid climate and growing population throughout New Mexico and Texas, has raised concerns about the severity, regularity and duration of naturally occurring droughts in the Southwest region of the United States. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

I love Fall, I love the colors and crunch of the leaves.  I absolutely do NOT like though the early evenings aka sunsets in the middle of the afternoon.  Sunsets that happen before 6pm feel criminal, let alone before 5pm! 

In the spirit of sharing, I wanted to pass along that super early sunsets are on their way to Colorado.  In fact, when the clocks change to Daylight Savings time on November 5th Colorado is in for a rude awakening. 

The sunset on 11/5 is expected to be at 4:54pm. 

That sounds awful, but unfortunately our Colorado sunsets will keep getting earlier each evening until early in December.  

When will the sun set after 6pm again here in Colorado?  Sometime in March my friends.  

But what about the fact that we here in Colorado voted to make Mountain Daylight Time our permanent choice?

Currently states are not allowed to opt into permanent daylight time — only to opt out and it’s all due to the  Uniform Time Act of 1966, which mandated daylight saving time nationwide. 

What would you rather have – earlier sunsets or earlier sunrises?  

Enjoy the sun while we can!

Melissa