The sun won't set before 5 p.m. in Toronto for another 9 months

The light at the end of the tunnel that is winter inches closer and with it, comes a milestone – as of this week, the sun will not set before 5 p.m. in Toronto for another nine months.

On Friday, the sun will set in Toronto at approximately 5:01 p.m.

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It won’t be until after the clocks turn back in the fall, more than nine months away, that the city will be shrouded in late afternoon darkness once again.

The days have been getting progressively longer since Dec. 21, the shortest day of the year, when the sun set at approximately 4:43 p.m.

On March 10 at 2 a.m., clocks spring forward and the evenings will become even brighter. The clocks will remain an hour ahead before they’re turned back again on Nov. 3.

The day after the clocks change in March, the sun will set at about 7:18 p.m. – about an hour later than the previous day – and continue to set later and later each night until June. On June 21, the longest day of the year, the sun will rise at about 5 a.m. and stay in the sky past 9 p.m.

On this day, there will be nearly six-and-a-half more hours of daylight than the Dec. 21 winter solstice.

In November 2020, Ontario passed legislation that could make daylight saving time permanent in the province

Although the bill has received royal assent, it has yet to be proclaimed into force by the Lieutenant Governor. This can only happen if both New York and Quebec make the same change.

READ MORE: 'A public health concern': Should Canadians stop turning back the clocks?

ONTARIO LONG-TERM FORECASTS

While shorter days may be behind us, the winter weather remains.

Until recent weeks, the area had seen an unseasonably warm winter, with significant rainfall and few flurries. The city's first snow accumulation didn't come until Dec .7, when just about 5 cm blanketed the ground.

But the first major storm of the season is on its way -- on Friday, the Toronto area, alongside much of southern Ontario, is bracing for up to 25 cm of snow in some parts of the region.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac long-range forecast, Ontario can expect cold temperatures and flurries intermittently into February.

As we near spring, April and May will be cooler and wetter than normal, according to the Almanac's forecast.