Earliest Sunset in Ketchikan, AK: 3:16 pm on Dec 14, 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 Ketchikan, sunset on Saturday, Oct 31 is 5:10 pm. On Sunday, Nov 1 it is 4:08 pm, which is 62 minutes earlier on the clock (one hour from the clock change plus about 2 minutes of normal seasonal change). Sunrise moves from 7:50 am to 6:52 am.
Why the earliest sunset is not on the shortest day
At this latitude the sun sets earliest around Dec 14, about 7 days before the winter solstice, and rises latest around Dec 28, about 7 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 9 to Dec 19.
When does the sun set after 5 pm again?
Sunset at Ketchikan stays before 5:00 pm until about Feb 19 (2027), and it is first at or after 5:00 pm that day, based on our calculation.
Sunrise and sunset, winter 2026–27, Ketchikan
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 31, 2026 | 7:50 am | 5:10 pm | 9 h 20 min |
| Nov 1, 2026 | 6:52 am | 4:08 pm | 9 h 15 min |
| Nov 15, 2026 | 7:21 am | 3:41 pm | 8 h 20 min |
| Dec 1, 2026 | 7:50 am | 3:21 pm | 7 h 31 min |
| Dec 15, 2026 | 8:08 am | 3:16 pm | 7 h 08 min |
| Dec 21, 2026 | 8:12 am | 3:18 pm | 7 h 05 min |
| Jan 1, 2027 | 8:14 am | 3:27 pm | 7 h 13 min |
| Jan 15, 2027 | 8:04 am | 3:49 pm | 7 h 44 min |
| Feb 1, 2027 | 7:39 am | 4:23 pm | 8 h 44 min |
| Feb 15, 2027 | 7:10 am | 4:53 pm | 9 h 43 min |
| Mar 1, 2027 | 6:37 am | 5:22 pm | 10 h 45 min |
| Mar 13, 2027 | 6:07 am | 5:47 pm | 11 h 40 min |
Local time (America/Sitka). Computed for the station coordinates (55.36, -131.72).
Nearby places
- Sitka, AK 3:19 pm
- Juneau, AK 3:06 pm
- Gustavus, AK 3:10 pm
- Yakutat, AK 3:16 pm
- Cordova, AK 3:30 pm
- Seattle (Sea-Tac Airport), WA 4:18 pm
- Northway, AK 2:47 pm
- Yakima, WA 4:15 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).