Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Don’t forget to fall back Sunday

The Strip at Sunset

Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com

The Strip at sunset as photographed by Tom Donoghue aboard a Maverick Helicopter on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013.

Brighter mornings and earlier sunsets are ahead starting Sunday, when clocks fall back an hour as daylight saving time ends.

The time change starts at 2 a.m., meaning sunrise will be at 6:06 a.m. Sunday — compared with 7:05 a.m. Saturday. According to the National Weather Service, sunset was at 5:43 p.m. Saturday and is expected to happen at 4:42 p.m. Sunday.

Getting used to the switch usually takes about two days because the body’s biological clock adjusts by about 30 minutes per day and we’re switching by 60 minutes, according to Dr. Meena Khan at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Khan suggests setting a routine before going to bed and at waking hours to ease through the transition.

The annual return to standard time ushers in the upcoming winter season, said Todd Lericos, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. The first day of winter this year is Dec. 21.

“It’s kind of in its own right a march to winter in the Las Vegas area,” Lericos said. “With the time change, we can tell we’re starting to slide into winter weather and cold snaps.”

The occasion is used by fire officials as a reminder for people to change batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. It’s also a good time to change batteries in weather radios, Lericos noted.

Almost all smoke alarms in the Las Vegas Valley contain a battery that needs to be changed annually, said Tim Szymanski, a spokesman for Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.

In all homes built in Las Vegas since 1994, fire codes require that smoke alarms in homes be wired into the home’s electric supply with a 9-volt battery as back up power source, Szymanski said. In homes built prior to 1994, the smoke alarm may be wired in without a battery or it may be a battery-only operated smoke alarm.

Because smoke alarms only have a life span of about 10 years, Szymanski said this is also a good time to replace them if necessary.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy