Longer days are starting to pay off. Here’s when Washington will have a sunset after 5 p.m.
It can sometimes be difficult to remember what the sun looks like during the winter. Especially in the Pacific Northwest, where it’s felt like a constant blanket of clouds has enveloped the Evergreen State.
But believe it or not, the sun will return soon. In just a couple of days, the sun will set after 5 p.m. in Washington state.
Since the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21, Washington has been picking up more sunshine by the day. Times will vary slightly depending on your latitude, but on average, Washington saw approximately 8 hours and 28 minutes of sunlight on Dec. 21, with the sun setting at 4:22 p.m.
On Monday, Jan. 22, Washingtonians enjoyed about 9 hours and 9 minutes of sunshine, with a 4:57 p.m. sunset. Thursday, Jan. 25 will be the first day of the year when the sun sets after 5 p.m.
Here’s how fast Washington state is gaining sunlight and why it’s been increasing since December.
How fast is Washington gaining sunlight?
At the start of January, Washington had approximately 8 hours and 33 minutes of daylight, meaning in just 22 days, so over half an hour of sunlight has been gained since then.
By the end of the month, Washington will see approximately 9 hours and 32 minutes of daylight, with the sun rising at 7:36 a.m. and setting at 5:09 p.m.
Washington’s daylight will increase exponentially until the spring equinox on March 19 before slowing down until the summer solstice in June.
Why do we gain so much daylight in March?
March witnesses the fastest increase in daylight of any month as we approach and move past the spring equinox on March 19.
The spring equinox is when the sun crosses the celestial equator — an imaginary line that lines up with the equator on Earth — and the northern hemisphere tilts more often toward the sun. On the spring equinox, the northern and southern hemispheres receive about the same amount of sunlight. After the equinox, the northern hemisphere transitions to spring and summer while the southern hemisphere goes into fall and winter.
Washington state will gain approximately three minutes of sunlight every day in March. By the end of the month, the sun will set at 7:38 p.m. — Daylight Saving Time on March 10 helps push that time forward, but with a sunrise of 6:49 a.m., Washington will already be seeing over 12 hours of daylight every day.
The transition is fastest during March because about 10 days before and after the equinox, the Earth’s tilt causes the sunlight that hits a region to increase more rapidly than in the middle of summer or dead of winter.
Following the spring equinox, Washington will still gain more sunlight but at a slower pace. The state’s daylight hours will peak on the summer solstice on June 20, when Washingtonians will enjoy around 15 hours and 56 minutes of daylight.
After that, we’ll slowly start losing sunlight again as we creep toward winter.
The sun is positioned at either extreme of the spectrum during the summer and winter solstices, when the days are either longest or shortest, respectively, and therefore the change in daylight isn’t as drastic.
This story was originally published January 23, 2024 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Longer days are starting to pay off. Here’s when Washington will have a sunset after 5 p.m.."
