First day of winter · December solstice
How many days until winter?
Checked October 8, 2026 · first publish
75 days
Mon, Dec 21, 2026
There are 75 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 5 days · 11 weekends · 75 sleeps · 50 business days
| 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 | 75 |
| 2027 | Wed, Dec 22, 2027, 02:42 UTC | 9:42 p.m. EST on Tue, Dec 21, 2027 | 440 |
| 2028 | Thu, Dec 21, 2028, 08:19 UTC | 3:19 a.m. EST on Thu, Dec 21, 2028 | 806 |
| 2029 | Fri, Dec 21, 2029, 14:14 UTC | 9:14 a.m. EST on Fri, Dec 21, 2029 | 1171 |
| 2030 | Sat, Dec 21, 2030, 20:09 UTC | 3:09 p.m. EST on Sat, Dec 21, 2030 | 1536 |
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 DayReckon with the NOAA solar equations.
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.
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?
- Winter break dates differ by district, and our school tables cover spring break and the last day of school for 2026-27 so far. For the holiday itself, the Christmas page counts down to Fri, Dec 25, 2026, 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.
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.