We finally have some good winter news to share amidst the recent talk of snow squalls and frigid cold in Ontario.
Sunsets in Toronto, Ont., will now take place after 5 p.m once again as of Jan. 10––making their return after more than 60 days since their last occurrences in November 2024.
The darkest point of the year was reached when we ushered in the winter solstice on Dec. 21, 2024. The sunsets are progressively happening later and later as we gradually see more daylight on the path towards the spring solstice on March 20, then hitting the summer solstice on June 20. Friday, Jan. 10 will serve as a milestone for Toronto.
The second week of January sees Toronto gain 12 minutes of daylight, while due south in Florida, Miami, Fla., is only gaining six minutes.
High latitudes gain more daylight per day because they have more ground to make up by the spring equinox, when every point on Earth sees 12 hours of daylight.
While the sunset time is the focus in southern sections, the Far North is welcoming back the sun for the first time since November. Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T, will see the sun rise above the horizon on Feb. 13 for the first time since Nov. 27, 2024.
While we are enjoying a lull in the stormy weather at the moment, albeit a chilly reprieve, to go along with the forthcoming, longer periods of daylight, we should see a more active pattern develop during the second half of the month.
The focus of the coldest weather will shift back west and a milder pattern will eventually return to the eastern U.S., allowing for Texas and Colorado lows to develop and move into the Great Lakes region.
With files from Kevin MacKay, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
Watch the video above for the full story on the later sunsets returning as we head towards the spring solstice.