Make sure to turn your clocks back one hour Saturday night/Sunday morning.
This is the weekend people seem to cherish, since they get back their “lost” hour of sleep that was taken away in the Spring with Daylight Saving Time. I think sometimes people get “spring foward fall back ” mixed up, so remember to “fall back one hour” at this time of year.
Now is also a great time to check/change the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors around the house. These devices can save lives, but only if they have battery power and are functioning properly. We have heard many stories over the years about family fires where smoke detectors were present, but the batteries were dead. According to the National Association of Fire Prevention, 96 percent of American homes have smoke alarms, but 20 percent of those are not workings due to missing or low batteries. That means 23 million homes are at risk because on non-working smoke alarms and an additional five million homes are at risk by not even having them.
This hour of falling back will also affect the time the sun rises/sets now as well. That means it will be dark for most of us getting off work around 5:15/5:30 PM. Sunset will occur Sunday at 5:30 PM. Compare that to Saturday’s sunset time of 6:31 PM. Sunrise on Sunday will occur at 7:21 AM, compared to the Daylight Saving Time sunrise on Saturday of 8:19 AM. The days are indeed getting shorter!
Get the complete West Michigan forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
