NWS Fairbanks: Seasonal Daylight Shifts and Winter Solstice Maps for Alaska

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With less than 50 days to go until the Winter Solstice, Alaska is gearing up for the darkest days of the year. Our high latitude means we see the most extreme seasonal daylight shifts in North America, with far northern spots like Utqiaġvik (Barrow) experiencing a 24 hour swing in daylight between the Summer and Winter Solstices. The final sunset this year in Utqiaġvik will be on November 18th, and their next sunrise will not be until January 23rd, marking 66 days of polar night where there will be no sunrise or sunset at all. Here are a few maps that put these figures into perspective. Beyond just the loss of daylight, much of our state will also experience weeks or even months where the sun remains too low on the horizon to provide any functional solar heating. Are you a fan of our darker winter months, or are you already counting down the days until we start gaining daylight again? #akwx