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The Darkest Time of the Year (and the Earliest Sunsets)

sunset over the snow
Written By: Bob Berman Astronomer

Does it feel darker this time of year? Many folks think it’s darkest on the winter solstice. But it’s actually in early December! Bob Berman explains this phenomenon.

To most of us in North America, this is a dark time of year—and you’re right. The sunsets come exceedingly early. It might surprise you to learn that the earliest sunsets come several weeks before the winter solstice, not on the solstice, as many would guess.

This puzzles people, but it’s actually a reliable yearly sequence.

  • First comes the earliest sunset, in early December.
  • Then there’s the winter solstice half a month later—on December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere—the day with the fewest minutes of daylight.
  • Finally, another 2 weeks later, in early January, we get our murkiest morning—the latest sunrise.

In early December, North America slam-bangs at the low point of afternoon sunshine. And since far more people are awake and aware of things at 4:30 PM than they are at 6 in the morning, in a very real sense, you can forget about the solstice and the official “shortest day of the year” in terms of daylight. 

The Darkest Time of Year

So far as what most folks actually experience, early December is the darkest time of the year. 

For example, in Boston, the Sun started setting at 4:13 PM on December 3 and won’t start setting later, at 4:14 PM, until December 15. 

Of course, the degree of darkness varies, depending on how far north you live. The time the clock reads at sunset also depends on how far east or west your home sits relative to your standard time zone.

  • For northern latitudes, the earliest sunsets of the year happen around December 7. Think about 40 degrees latitude, so New York City, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Denver, and Reno.
  • If you live in the southernmost U.S., or a comparable latitude (about 25 or 26 degrees N. latitude), your earliest sunsets are actually in late November.
  • Drive just an hour east from where you are right now, and the Sun sets 10 minutes earlier. That’s because going east around the Earth’s curve makes your western horizon rise up to block the Sun sooner.
  • Go a mere 35 miles east, and the sun sets 5 minutes earlier.

In my region, which is the rural Northeastern US, the very earliest sunsets happen for those who indeed live both north AND east—namely, along the upper coast of Maine.

Winter sunset in the Beskid Żywieckie mountains. The place is called Hala Redykalna. The warm colors of the setting sun illuminate the snow and snow-covered trees.​
Photo: Mandrysz Krzysztof

Your Sunset Time?

Test this out yourself! See when your sun starts setting. Try putting in 2 days ago, and then today, and 1 week from now!

→ See the Almanac’s Sunrise & Sunset Calculator.

Why is the earliest sunset well before the winter solstice? 

Simply put, it all reflects the reality that tropical sunsets hardly vary throughout the year, while polar sunsets change wildly through the seasons. If you lived smack on the equator, like in Quito, Ecuador, your minutes of daylight would never budge throughout the year, not even by one second.

By contrast, our northern friends in Canada and Alaska experience the most radically short days in December.

But wherever you live, before the winter solstice starts, the afternoons will start getting brighter!

Learn all about the winter solstice coming up!

Solstice

About The Author

Bob Berman

Bob Berman

Astronomer

Bob Berman is an astronomer, author, and science communicator with decades of experience making the wonders of the universe accessible and engaging. Known for his wit and insight, Bob has captivated a...

Read more from Bob Berman

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Comments

<span>James</span> Mon, 12/07/2020 - 05:43
I love these columns about the heavens. I think I must be the only person that loves Winter, and Standard Time. It's a reprieve from the heat and long days of summer in Texas.
<span>Sharon Purcell</span> Sun, 12/10/2023 - 06:57
Your not the only person who loves winter. I sleep better and I love getting up early and having my first cup of coffee on my porch while the sun is coming up. I have always been a winter person....snow, cozy fireplaces, holidays.....etc.
<span>Kathy</span> Sat, 12/02/2023 - 09:35
You're not alone. Not by a long shot. As a transplanted Pennsylvanian that's lived in Florida for over 60 years, I still remember Winter 'up home' and miss it terribly. November has always been a favorite month. We don't get a real Winter here although we've seen snow; that's been terrific! You are not alone, my friend.
<span>Georgis</span> Fri, 12/06/2019 - 10:41
Interesting. I am in Eastern TN (Sweetwater), and our earliest sunset stalls at 5:24PM for 10-14 days, depending on which calculator I use. The "My Moon Phase" ap on my iPhone says Nov 28 - Dec 13. The Almanac goes from Nov 30 - Dec 10. My "shortest" day will only be 2 or 3 days. In other places I have lived in the U.S., the actual "shortest" day stalled for a longer time, as both the sunrise and sunset times shifted in lockstep.
<span>Barry M. Lamont</span> Mon, 12/03/2018 - 12:32
The reason for the earliest sunset not occurring on the winter solstice is fascinating and complex, but in simple terms: if you define a "day" as noon to noon - i.e. the highest point of the sun one day to the highest point the next day - then the AVERAGE day lasts exactly 24 hours, but most individual days are actually a few seconds shorter or longer! (It's a sine function, for those who remember their high-school trigonometry.) Modern technological society, and industrial society before it, required precision and simplicity (for the clocks), so a day was defined as 24 hours of exactly 60 minutes each; but in fact, the length of a noon-to-noon day changes between the equinox and the solstice, and of course changes back again between the solstice and the equinox. It is because the solar noons aren't exactly 86,400 seconds apart, but the clocks still pretend they are, that the sunset starts to get later in early December while the total amount of daylight is still shrinking.
<span>David Baird</span> Sun, 12/11/2016 - 05:21
The date of earliest sunset a really depends on your latitude - the nearer the poles you are, the nearer the winter solstice it will occur. For lower latitudes (nearer the equator) the earliest sunset can occur in late November.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 12/23/2016 - 12:21

Yes, you've made an excellent point, and it's true. That's why I said "for most of us" -- because virtually all these sky events have latitude-dependent deviations. My favorite happens for our friends in the far north, like in Fairbanks. Here in the lower 48 and Hawaii, the Harvest Moon rises only 20 - 25 minutes later each night for several nights surrounding the September equinox, instead of the normal 50 minutes later the rest of the year. We don't usually mention it, but in the far north the Moon at that time can actually come up EARLIER on successive nights! For most events in our calendar (like the visibility dates for Mercury) I do the calculations based on where the majority of us live, or else I use our headquarters in Dublin, New Hampshire. —Bob Berman

 <span>Ronald Lacourse</span> Tue, 12/06/2016 - 18:48
I had no idea,, December 8th is the darkest night, must have something with the moon and nighttime
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 12/07/2016 - 21:16

Let's be totally clear:  December 8 is not the darkest night. It's the darkest DAY. As we explained, this means that it's the gloomiest afternoon, the earliest sunset. And since far more people are awake and aware at 4:15 PM than at 6 AM, it's the afternoon darkness that gets widely noticed by the most people, and that's the date when you experience that.

For "darkest night" honors I'd pick the winter solstice, December 21, which has the longest night. For maximum darkness, I'd also want the Moon to be absent. Happily, if you're a darkness-fan, like a vampire, an insomniac, or maybe a cat burglar, this year the solstice happens a whole week after the full moon, and on that night the Moon won't even rise until midnight, leaving the first half of the night quite dark indeed!   –Bob Berman

 <span>John Paul Brophy</span> Tue, 12/06/2016 - 13:10
Hello, Mr. Berman ~ In the Old Farmer's Almanac 2016, the December Left-Hand Calendar Page lists the earliest (of 12) sunsets as starting on 1 December, not on the 8 December date that you have in your article "The Darkest Time of the Year." Could you please explain the discrepancy? Thank you.