Montana: We Are Losing Daylight Faster Than You Think

The Countdown To The Winter Solstice Begins

One of the reasons I love Montana is we get all 4 seasons, even if I dislike one of them—I'm looking at you, winter.

One of my favorite seasonal transitions is from summer to fall, except for the lack of daylight, which gets shorter and shorter every day in August.

Montana’s Rapid Loss Of Daylight In August

Every single day until the winter solstice which happens on Dec. 21, 2025, we'll have less and less daylight here in Montana.

We're also not talking about a little bit of time here either; we could lose up to as much as 90 minutes of daylight by the time this month is over.

Of course that all depends on where you live in Montana, because due to our massive size, some towns will stay lighter longer.

How Daylight Loss Differs Across Montana

Ironically enough, the sun has been setting sooner every day since the summer solstice on June 20th; it's just that it was only seconds a day.

Today I've already noticed in Great Falls that the sun is beginning to set in the 8pm hour, which makes sense as Great Falls and those located more north in Montana will see 90 minutes less of daylight by the end of the month.

Contrast that to Billings, which is just a bit further south, and they'll only be losing 60 minutes of daylight by the end of August.

AccuWeather says that each day in August is a minute to two minutes shorter than the day before, which adds up fast.

Enjoy these last days of summer, because soon enough, we'll be driving to and from work in the dark.

Source: AccuWeather