East Tennessee sunrise, sunsets times under permanent daylight saving time

Those looking forward to gaining an hour of sleep this November might soon be out of luck. On July 14, the U.S. Housevoted in favor of making daylight saving time permanent, ending the need to change the clocks twice a year.

H.R. 139, also known as the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, was filed on Jan. 3, 2025, by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida. Buchanan has attempted to pass the Sunshine Protection Act in every Congress since 2018.

The bill would make daylight saving time the permanent standard nationwide. It would allow states to opt out and remain on standard time. The Sunshine Protection Act still must be approved by the U.S. Senate and then by President Donald Trump, who supports making daylight saving time permanent.

What is daylight saving time?

Every year on the second

Sunday in March, most states "spring forward" as clocks are set forward one hour for daylight saving time. On the first Sunday in November every year participating states then "fall back" and clocks are set back an hour and go back to standard time.

Arizona and Hawaii are the only two states that don't observe daylight saving time. The Navajo Nation in Arizona does observe daylight saving time. Territories, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also don't participate in daylight saving time.

What permanent daylight savings means for Tennessee

While states would have the option to opt-out of the Sunshine Protection Act, Tennessee already has plans to opt-in to the bill.

In 2019, Governor Bill Lee signed a trigger law, that would enact permanent daylight saving time in Tennessee dependent on federal approval from U.S. Congress.

If the Sunshine Protection Act is approved by the Senate and then by Trump before November, the 2019 law would begin year-round daylight saving time on Nov. 1 of this year.

Certification from the Tennessee General Assembly would also be needed to opt-in to the Sunshine Protection Act.

Tennessee is already on daylight saving from the beginning of March to the beginning of November. Permanent daylight saving time would only change times for about four months out of the year.

East Tennessee sunrises, sunsets under permanent daylight savings time

Tennessee is one of the 14 states that is split between two time zones. The majority of the state, including cities like Nashville, Memphis and Clarksville fall in Central time. Knoxville, and East Tennessee fall into Eastern time, cities further east in Tennessee see a little more daylight than cities on the western side of the Eastern time zone.

Using times from timeanddate.com, here's how times would vary across various East Tennessee cities if daylight saving time were made permanent this year.

Knoxville

• Summer solstice, June 21
  • Sunrise: 6:59 a.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunrise with permanent daylight saving time: 6:59 a.m. (same)
  • Sunset: 8:17 p.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunset with permanent daylight saving time: 8:17 p.m. (same)
• Winter solstice, Dec. 21
  • Sunrise: 7:42 a.m. under standard time
    • Sunrise with permanent daylight saving time: 8:42 a.m.
  • Sunset: 5:25 p.m. under standard time
    • Sunset with permanent daylight saving time: 6:25 p.m.

Chattanooga

• Summer solstice, June 21
  • Sunrise: 6:27 a.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunrise with permanent daylight saving time: 6:27 a.m. (same)
  • Sunset: 8:58 p.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunset with permanent daylight saving time: 8:58 p.m. (same)
• Winter solstice, Dec. 21
  • Sunrise: 7:45 a.m. under standard time
    • Sunrise with permanent daylight saving time: 8:45 a.m.
  • Sunset: 5:33 p.m. under standard time
    • Sunset with permanent daylight saving time: 6:33 p.m.

Johnson City

• Summer solstice, June 21
  • Sunrise: 6:12 a.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunrise with permanent daylight saving time: 6:12 a.m. (same)
  • Sunset: 8:50 p.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunset with permanent daylight saving time: 8:50 p.m. (same)
• Winter solstice, Dec. 21
  • Sunrise: 7:37 a.m. under standard time
    • Sunrise with permanent daylight saving time: 8:37 a.m.
  • Sunset: 5:18 p.m. under standard time
    • Sunset with permanent daylight saving time: 6:18 p.m.

Crossville

• Summer solstice, June 21
  • Sunrise: 5:23 a.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunrise under permanent daylight saving time: 5:23 a.m. (same)
  • Sunset: 8 p.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunset under permanent daylight saving time: 8 p.m. (same)
• Winter solstice, Dec. 21
  • Sunrise: 6:46 a.m. under standard time
    • Sunrise under permanent daylight saving time: 7:46 a.m.
  • Sunset: 4:29 p.m. under standard time
    • Sunset under permanent daylight saving time: 5:29 p.m.

Mountain City

• Summer solstice, June 21
  • Sunrise: 6:09 a.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunrise under permanent daylight saving time: 6:09 a.m. (same)
  • Sunset: 8:48 p.m. under daylight saving time
    • Sunset under permanent daylight saving time: 8:48 p.m. (same)
• Winter solstice, Dec. 21
  • Sunrise: 7:35 a.m. under standard time
    • Sunrise under permanent daylight saving time: 8:35 a.m.
  • Sunset: 5:15 p.m. under standard time
    • Sunset under permanent daylight saving time: 6:15 p.m.

Permanent daylight saving time history

Permanent daylight saving time was first attempted in 1918 during World War I, it was nicknamed "war time." War time was meant to conserve fuel and energy during warmer months. It was repealed at the conclusion of WWI and was reinstated for World War II.

In 1966, Congress established the twice-yearly time changes nationwide. Then, in 1973, then-President Richard Nixon made daylight saving time permanent for two years as a part of efforts to deal with the ongoing energy crisis.

Permanent daylight savings began on Jan. 6, 1974, and in that month, school-aged kids around the country were heading to school in the dark and multiple accidents were reported around the country. In Florida, there were eight children killed in accidents, compared to two the previous year. At the time, a spokesman for Florida's education department said that "six of the deaths were clearly attributable to the fact that children were going off to school in darkness."

The permanent daylight saving plan meant to last two years didn't even last one. In October 1974, Congress repealed the year-round daylight saving time and went back to standard time in the winter.

Critics of the Sunshine Protection Act argue that later sunrises would not only put kids going to school in the dark at risk, but other Americans who head to work early in the day, such as constructions workers, would face increased safety hazards.

Afton Pratt covers trending news for The Knoxville News Sentinel and Tennessee. She can be reached at [e-mail].

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: East Tennessee sunrise, sunsets times under permanent daylight saving time