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SEATTLE - If the dark days in Seattle are starting to wear on you, there is some relief in sight.
For the first time since early November, Seattle will see its first 5 p.m. sunset this month.
Keep reading to learn when the "Big Dark" will start to lift in Seattle and when the long-awaited sunsets after 7 p.m. will return.
When will Seattle see a sunset after 5 p.m.?
By the numbers:
According to the Time and Date website, Seattle will see its first 5 p.m. sunset on Sunday, Jan. 25. That makes the first post-5 o'clock sunset to occur on Monday, Jan. 26, when the sun will go down at 5:01 p.m.
After that, Seattle will only get more daylight, with 6 p.m. sunsets returning on March 5.
With Daylight Saving Time starting again on March 8, the sunset will suddenly jump to 7:04 p.m in Seattle.
A pedestrian carries an umbrella while passing in front of the Amazon Spheres in Seattle, Wash., on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. (Mike Kane/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Why it's called the 'Big Dark’ in Seattle
What they're saying:
If you're new to the Seattle area, the National Weather Service coined the months-long dark season — where you may be waking up in the dark, going home in the dark and spending much of your day under dark overcast skies — as the "Big Dark."
Even though the "Big Dark" is not an official fifth season in Seattle, it does signal the ushering in of the soggy, gloomy season in the Emerald City.
What was the earliest sunset in Seattle in 2025?
The earliest sunset we saw in Seattle in 2025 was actually not on the winter solstice, Dec. 21, but rather the stretch between Dec. 7 and 13, when the sun was regularly setting at 4:17 p.m.
The Source: The Source: Information comes from the 2025 Seattle sun graph on TimeAndDate.com.
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