Oh boy was I sleepy this morning!

(Yawn)

Somehow my body, and perhaps yours, "knew" that Daylight Savings Time came early
this year. As someone who has lived in different parts of the country, I've just got to tell
you that it seems to have even more impact here than other parts of the country, why?

BECAUSE WE ARE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN TIME ZONE!

What do I mean by that? Well, when the time zones were first laid out, it was the eastern part of the time zones that more aligned with actual "solar time", that is, the sun being overhead at high noon. As you move farther and farther west into the time zone, the sun actually is highest in the sky closer to 1pm. AND with Daylight Savings, it goes even beyond that. In the Eastern part of the time zone, such as near Denver, the sun would be overhead closer to 1pm, and here in the western part of Mountain Time, nearly 2pm!  ALMOST TWO PM!

Now this may not seem like a big deal to you, but that means we are offset nearly 2 hours from what would be "natural" Noon. Dark mornings, and very very light evenings. Fun for play after dinner, but HARD for me to go to sleep and wake up early to present the weather to you first thing on Good Morning Utah!

In all seriousness, in March, this will present a bit of a problem for schoolkids waiting for the bus in the dark, and increases morning consumption of energy. However, the "idea" behind going to Daylight Savings time early this year, is that in the evening, we won't need as much indoor lighting, and energy use, since it stays daylight longer.

Some states such as Arizona and Hawaii, do not join the rest of us as they do not change their clocks. Genereally speaking Savings Time tends to be popular because of the light evenings, especially at this time of year, as it gives a psychological "boost" after a long winter!

Todd