Earliest Sunset in McGrath, AK: 3:42 pm on Dec 17, 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 McGrath, sunset on Saturday, Oct 31 is 6:14 pm. On Sunday, Nov 1 it is 5:11 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 9:57 am to 9:00 am.
Why the earliest sunset is not on the shortest day
At this latitude the sun sets earliest around Dec 17, about 4 days before the winter solstice, and rises latest around Dec 25, about 4 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 13 to Dec 20.
When does the sun set after 5 pm again?
Sunset at McGrath stays before 5:00 pm until about Jan 26 (2027), and it is first at or after 5:00 pm that day, based on our calculation.
Sunrise and sunset, winter 2026–27, McGrath
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 31, 2026 | 9:57 am | 6:14 pm | 8 h 17 min |
| Nov 1, 2026 | 9:00 am | 5:11 pm | 8 h 11 min |
| Nov 15, 2026 | 9:42 am | 4:31 pm | 6 h 49 min |
| Dec 1, 2026 | 10:27 am | 3:56 pm | 5 h 29 min |
| Dec 15, 2026 | 10:54 am | 3:42 pm | 4 h 48 min |
| Dec 21, 2026 | 10:59 am | 3:43 pm | 4 h 44 min |
| Jan 1, 2027 | 10:57 am | 3:56 pm | 4 h 59 min |
| Jan 15, 2027 | 10:36 am | 4:28 pm | 5 h 52 min |
| Feb 1, 2027 | 9:54 am | 5:19 pm | 7 h 25 min |
| Feb 15, 2027 | 9:12 am | 6:02 pm | 8 h 50 min |
| Mar 1, 2027 | 8:27 am | 6:44 pm | 10 h 17 min |
| Mar 13, 2027 | 7:47 am | 7:18 pm | 11 h 32 min |
Local time (America/Anchorage). Computed for the station coordinates (62.96, -155.61).
Nearby places
- Tanana, AK 2:50 pm
- Anchorage, AK 3:41 pm
- Fairbanks, AK 2:40 pm
- King Salmon, AK 4:31 pm
- Bettles, AK 1:53 pm
- Kotzebue, AK 2:39 pm
- Cordova, AK 3:30 pm
- Kodiak, AK 4:22 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).