Earliest Sunset in Anchorage, AK: 3:41 pm on Dec 16, 2026
What happens to sunset when the clocks change (Nov 1, 2026)
Daylight saving time ends at 2:00 am on Sunday, Nov 1, 2026. At Anchorage, sunset on Saturday, Oct 31 is 6:01 pm. On Sunday, Nov 1 it is 4:58 pm, which is 63 minutes earlier on the clock (one hour from the clock change plus about 3 minutes of normal seasonal change). Sunrise moves from 9:26 am to 8:29 am.
Why the earliest sunset is not on the shortest day
At this latitude the sun sets earliest around Dec 16, about 5 days before the winter solstice, and rises latest around Dec 26, about 5 days after it. In December, solar noon slides a little later on the clock each day (about half a minute per day), which shifts sunsets later while the days are still getting shorter. More on the 2026 findings. Within a minute of that time from Dec 12 to Dec 20.
When does the sun set after 5 pm again?
Sunset at Anchorage stays before 5:00 pm until about Jan 29 (2027), and it is first at or after 5:00 pm that day, based on our calculation.
Sunrise and sunset, winter 2026–27, Anchorage
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 31, 2026 | 9:26 am | 6:01 pm | 8 h 35 min |
| Nov 1, 2026 | 8:29 am | 4:58 pm | 8 h 29 min |
| Nov 15, 2026 | 9:07 am | 4:22 pm | 7 h 16 min |
| Dec 1, 2026 | 9:46 am | 3:52 pm | 6 h 06 min |
| Dec 15, 2026 | 10:10 am | 3:41 pm | 5 h 32 min |
| Dec 21, 2026 | 10:14 am | 3:42 pm | 5 h 28 min |
| Jan 1, 2027 | 10:14 am | 3:54 pm | 5 h 40 min |
| Jan 15, 2027 | 9:57 am | 4:23 pm | 6 h 26 min |
| Feb 1, 2027 | 9:20 am | 5:08 pm | 7 h 48 min |
| Feb 15, 2027 | 8:42 am | 5:47 pm | 9 h 05 min |
| Mar 1, 2027 | 8:01 am | 6:25 pm | 10 h 25 min |
| Mar 13, 2027 | 7:23 am | 6:57 pm | 11 h 34 min |
Local time (America/Anchorage). Computed for the station coordinates (61.17, -150.03).
Nearby places
- Cordova, AK 3:30 pm
- McGrath, AK 3:42 pm
- Kodiak, AK 4:22 pm
- Fairbanks, AK 2:40 pm
- King Salmon, AK 4:31 pm
- Tanana, AK 2:50 pm
- Northway, AK 2:47 pm
- Yakutat, AK 3:16 pm
These times repeat almost exactly each year (in our checks the earliest-sunset clock time did not change by even a minute from 2025 to 2029). Computed by Earliest Sunset; how we calculate this. Your exact spot, hills, buildings and elevation can shift what you see; this is the time the sun’s upper edge touches the flat horizon.
Long, dark evenings mean more heating. Heat pump vs gas furnace, propane and oil: heating cost in Alaska (on our sister site PlugVsPump, from EIA prices).