Countdown DayFirst day of winter · December solstice
How many days until winter?
Checked October 9, 2026 · added a winter solstice section with earliest sunsets and latest sunrises
There are 72 days until the first day of winter (December solstice), Mon, Dec 21, 2026. In 2026 the solstice is at 3:50 p.m. Eastern on Monday, December 21. Meteorological winter starts sooner, on December 1.
10 weeks and 2 days · 10 weekends · 72 sleeps · 48 business days
On the way there
Dates you pass first
2daysColumbus DayMon, Oct 12, 2026
21daysHalloweenSat, Oct 31, 2026
32daysVeterans DayWed, Nov 11, 2026
40daysGTA VI releaseThu, Nov 19, 2026| US time zone | Local time | Local date |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern time | 3:50 p.m. EST | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 |
| Central time | 2:50 p.m. CST | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 |
| Mountain time | 1:50 p.m. MST | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 |
| Arizona time | 1:50 p.m. MST | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 |
| Pacific time | 12:50 p.m. PST | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 |
| Alaska time | 11:50 a.m. AKST | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 |
| Hawaii time | 10:50 a.m. HST | Mon, Dec 21, 2026 |
Instant from the US Naval Observatory: 20:50 UTC on Mon, Dec 21, 2026, converted to standard time in each zone.
| Year | UTC | New York time | Days away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mon, Dec 21, 2026, 20:50 UTC | 3:50 p.m. EST on Mon, Dec 21, 2026 | 72 |
| 2027 | Wed, Dec 22, 2027, 02:42 UTC | 9:42 p.m. EST on Tue, Dec 21, 2027 | 437 |
| 2028 | Thu, Dec 21, 2028, 08:19 UTC | 3:19 a.m. EST on Thu, Dec 21, 2028 | 803 |
| 2029 | Fri, Dec 21, 2029, 14:14 UTC | 9:14 a.m. EST on Fri, Dec 21, 2029 | 1168 |
| 2030 | Sat, Dec 21, 2030, 20:09 UTC | 3:09 p.m. EST on Sat, Dec 21, 2030 | 1533 |
In 2027 the solstice is at 02:42 UTC on Dec 22, which is the evening of Tue, Dec 21 across the United States.
How short is the shortest day?
| City | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | 7:17 a.m. | 4:32 p.m. | 9 h 15 min |
| Los Angeles, CA | 6:55 a.m. | 4:48 p.m. | 9 h 53 min |
| Chicago, IL | 7:15 a.m. | 4:23 p.m. | 9 h 8 min |
| Houston, TX | 7:13 a.m. | 5:27 p.m. | 10 h 14 min |
| Phoenix, AZ | 7:28 a.m. | 5:25 p.m. | 9 h 57 min |
| Philadelphia, PA | 7:19 a.m. | 4:39 p.m. | 9 h 20 min |
| San Antonio, TX | 7:24 a.m. | 5:40 p.m. | 10 h 16 min |
| San Diego, CA | 6:47 a.m. | 4:47 p.m. | 10 h 0 min |
| Dallas, TX | 7:26 a.m. | 5:25 p.m. | 9 h 59 min |
| Seattle, WA | 7:55 a.m. | 4:20 p.m. | 8 h 25 min |
| Denver, CO | 7:18 a.m. | 4:39 p.m. | 9 h 21 min |
| Miami, FL | 7:03 a.m. | 5:35 p.m. | 10 h 32 min |
Calculated by Countdown Day with the NOAA solar equations.
Is the winter solstice the darkest evening?
| City | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | 4:28 p.m., Dec 6 to 9 | 7:20 a.m., Dec 29 to Jan 10 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 4:43 p.m., Dec 3 to 6 | 6:59 a.m., Jan 1 to 14 |
| Chicago, IL | 4:19 p.m., Dec 5 to 11 | 7:18 a.m., Dec 28 to Jan 9 |
| Houston, TX | 5:22 p.m., Nov 25 to Dec 9 | 7:18 a.m., Jan 5 to 15 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 5:20 p.m., Nov 30 to Dec 8 | 7:33 a.m., Jan 2 to 13 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 4:35 p.m., Dec 5 to 10 | 7:23 a.m., Jan 3 to 6 |
| San Antonio, TX | 5:35 p.m., Nov 26 to Dec 7 | 7:30 a.m., Jan 7 to 14 |
| San Diego, CA | 4:42 p.m., Nov 30 to Dec 7 | 6:52 a.m., Jan 5 to 11 |
| Dallas, TX | 5:21 p.m., Nov 27 to Dec 10 | 7:30 a.m., Jan 1 to 16 |
| Seattle, WA | 4:18 p.m., Dec 5 to 16 | 7:58 a.m., Dec 31 to Jan 2 |
| Denver, CO | 4:35 p.m., Dec 4 to 10 | 7:21 a.m., Dec 29 to Jan 10 |
| Miami, FL | 5:29 p.m., Nov 25 to Dec 4 | 7:09 a.m., Jan 6 to 19 |
Calculated by Countdown Day with the NOAA solar equations, the same method as the daylight table. Times are local standard time, rounded to the minute, so a plateau of several days shares the same minute.
How much daylight is left on the shortest day?
On Mon, Dec 21, 2026, the 12 cities in our table range from about 8 hours 25 minutes of daylight in Seattle to about 10 hours 32 minutes in Miami. That two-hour gap is the mirror image of June, when Seattle has the longest day. Chicago sits near 9 hours 8 minutes, New York near 9 hours 15 minutes, Houston near 10 hours 14 minutes and Los Angeles near 9 hours 53 minutes.
After the solstice, days start to lengthen again, slowly at first. That is the practical meaning of the date: from here on, each day has a little more light than the one before.
Why is the solstice in the afternoon?
The solstice is one moment for the planet, not a whole day. In 2026 that moment is 20:50 UTC, which turns into mid-afternoon on the East Coast and late morning in Hawaii. The counter runs to that instant, so in the final day you will see hours and minutes run out at 3:50 p.m. Eastern rather than at midnight.
When is the next solstice after this one?
The 2027 solstice comes at 02:42 UTC on December 22. In every US time zone that is still Tuesday evening, December 21, so the US date holds steady at December 21 again. The years table shows each solstice through 2030.
When is the winter solstice 2026, and why are evenings already lighter?
The winter solstice 2026 is Mon, Dec 21 at 20:50 UTC, 3:50 p.m. Eastern. It is the day with the least daylight, but it is not the day with the earliest sunset. In New York the sun sets earliest from about Dec 6 to Dec 9, at 4:28 p.m. The latest sunrise comes around the turn of the year, near 7:20 a.m.
The reason is the equation of time. Solar noon drifts later through December by about half a minute a day, so sunrise and sunset both slide later. Before the solstice the shrinking day wins at sunset; after it, the later drift wins at sunrise.
The table shows the same pattern in 12 cities. Places farther south, such as Miami and Houston, reach their earliest sunset in late November. Northern cities such as Seattle and Chicago reach it in early December. For most people, the darkest evenings are already behind them on the solstice.
Questions people ask
- When is the first day of winter 2026?
- The December solstice is Mon, Dec 21, 2026 at 20:50 UTC. That is 3:50 p.m. in New York, 2:50 p.m. in Chicago, 12:50 p.m. in Los Angeles and 10:50 a.m. in Honolulu. The time comes from the US Naval Observatory.
- What is the shortest day of the year in Seattle?
- Our calculation gives Seattle about 8 hours 25 minutes of daylight on Mon, Dec 21, 2026, the shortest of the 12 cities we track. Chicago gets about 9 hours 8 minutes and New York about 9 hours 15 minutes.
- How many days until winter break?
- It depends on the district. In nine of the ten districts on our winter break page, the break starts on Mon, Dec 21, 2026, the day of the solstice. NYC starts on Thu, Dec 24. Christmas Day is four days after the solstice.
- Is winter on December 1 or December 21?
- Meteorological winter is December, January and February, so it begins December 1. NOAA notes that weather records use whole months to compare seasons cleanly. Astronomical winter begins at the solstice, which is the date our counter uses.
Related pages
Sources
- US Naval Observatory: Earth's Seasons (API) — aa.usno.navy.mil
- AstroPixels: Solstices and Equinoxes 2001-2100 — astropixels.com
- NOAA NCEI: Meteorological versus astronomical seasons — ncei.noaa.gov
- City coordinates: Wikipedia (MediaWiki API) — en.wikipedia.org
General date information from official calendars (OPM, USNO). It is not legal, tax or immigration advice; check the agency named on the page for your own deadline.