When does it get light in winter?
Later than you'd expect from the solstice alone. Sunrise keeps getting later for a week or more after the shortest day, and doesn't turn until around New Year. In New York the latest sunrise is Dec 31, at 7:21 AM. Why that happens is in when the days start getting longer.
| City | First light, Dec 21 | Latest sunrise | Dark at 7 AM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage, AK | 9:13 AM | Dec 22 (10:16 AM) | 179 mornings |
| Seattle, WA | 7:19 AM | Dec 26 (7:58 AM) | 83 mornings |
| Minneapolis, MN | 7:15 AM | Dec 29 (7:52 AM) | 82 mornings |
| Chicago, IL | 6:44 AM | Dec 30 (7:19 AM) | Never |
| New York, NY | 6:46 AM | Dec 31 (7:21 AM) | Never |
| Denver, CO | 6:48 AM | Dec 31 (7:22 AM) | 1 mornings |
| Los Angeles, CA | 6:28 AM | Jan 3 (7:00 AM) | Never |
| Dallas, TX | 6:59 AM | Jan 2 (7:31 AM) | 76 mornings |
| Miami, FL | 6:39 AM | Jan 9 (7:10 AM) | 21 mornings |
| Honolulu, HI | 6:41 AM | Jan 9 (7:12 AM) | Never |
First light is the time to watch, not sunrise. From first light the sky is bright enough to see by, and the light outside is already far brighter than indoors. How the times are worked out is on how DaySight calculates.
Why the darkest mornings come before the clocks change
Clock time, not the sun, decides how dark 7 AM feels. In New York on October 31, first light is at 6:57 AM. The clocks go back on November 1 and it jumps to 5:59 AM. In spring it runs the other way: when the clocks go forward on March 14, 2027, first light moves to 6:44 AM and the sun isn't up until 7:11 AM.
Seattle is dark at 7 AM on 83 mornings this winter
Clock times of first light and sunrise, September 2026 to April 2027. Where the violet line is below the dashed 7 AM line, it's still dark at 7.
Source: DaySight, calculated from the sun's position for each city.
So the darkest 7 AMs of the fall come in the last days of October, just before the clocks go back. In the south, where winter sunrise is later on the clock, they come back in March after the clocks go forward: Dallas is still dark at 7 AM until Mar 25. In Minneapolis it's dark at 7 AM on 82 mornings in all.
What if it's dark when you leave?
Bright morning light moves your body clock earlier, according to the CDC's NIOSH, so the morning is the light to aim for. If it's dark when you leave, the next best things are practical:
- Step outside in the first break after first light, even for a few minutes.
- Walk part of the way, or get off a stop early, once it's light.
- Take a coffee or call outside mid-morning rather than at a desk.
- On weekends, get out early: it's the easiest light of the week to catch.
Daylight outside beats a bright room by a wide margin, even in winter. A 2021 study put bright indoor lighting at around 1,000 lux and shaded daylight outside at ten to a hundred times that. More on why in morning sunlight.
Winter blues and light therapy
For some people the short days bring more than tiredness. The National Institute of Mental Health describes seasonal affective disorder as depression that starts in late fall or early winter and is tied to the change in daylight. One treatment it describes is light therapy: sitting in front of a 10,000 lux light box for about 30 to 45 minutes, usually first thing in the morning, from fall to spring.
The NIMH notes that people with some eye conditions, or who take medicines that increase sensitivity to light, may need to use light therapy under medical supervision. If the winter months leave you low, talk to a doctor.
DaySight is general information, not medical advice. The sources behind this page are on About DaySight.