Here's How Much Sunlight FL Can Gain Ahead Of Spring

Floridians can expect at least 20 minutes of sunlight as January transitions the Sunshine State further away from the winter solstice.

The solstice on Dec. 21, 2025 marked the shortest day of the year and made way for longer nights. But AccuWeather forecasters say the southern U.S. will subtly experience 20-30 minutes more daylight by Jan. 31 compared to the top of the month.

"While the days are growing longer, winter’s grip isn’t loosening just yet. The sun remains low in the sky, and its angle is still too weak to deliver much warmth. But as daylight continues to increase in the months ahead, the sun will climb higher overhead — gradually boosting temperatures and signaling the slow march toward spring," AccuWeather reported.

The daily change in the amount of added sunlight has been merely seconds since the solstice, both AccuWeather and The Old Farmer's Almanac reported; but, this will continue to grow in the days ahead. The Almanac said the daylight gain will eventually expand by 3 minutes per day in March.

In Florida, there were 10 hours and 28 minutes of sunlight with the sun's peak occurring at 12:36 p.m. on Thursday. Sunrise was at 7:22 a.m., and the sun set at 5:50 p.m., according to The Almanac.

The sunlight gain will be 24 minutes by Jan. 31; but, Floridians can expect to feel 12 hours and 26 minutes of daylight by March 31, according to The Almanac.

Across the U.S., AccuWeather reported the change to more daylight will be drastic in the northern states, where sunlight in some areas will increase by at least an hour.

Here's the daylight change between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31 in some major U.S. cities:

• Orlando: 28 minutes
• Los Angeles: 36 minutes
• Denver: 44 minutes
• New York City: 46 minutes
• Minneapolis: 55 minutes
• Seattle: 61 minutes

The next important weather event to mark on calendars will be the spring equinox when the season's astronomical first day of spring will be on March 20 in the Northern Hemisphere. The equinox will occur at 10:46 a.m. ET, according to The Almanac on Tuesday.

"In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox (also called the March equinox or vernal equinox across the globe) occurs when the Sun crosses the celestial equator going south to north. It’s called the celestial equator because it’s an imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s equator," the Almanac reported.

Then, the Northern and Southern hemispheres will experience about equal amounts of sunlight, the Almanac said.