It’s almost winter. When will Washington start getting more daylight?
Temperatures are going down, warm coats are unpacked and the nights are long and dark.
That means wintertime is near.
The winter solstice — the astronomical event that officially kicks off winter in the Northern Hemisphere — is just days away.
While “the day of the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year” with the least daylight, it’s also a turning point, The Old Farmer’s Almanac said.
It “means the return of more sunlight” heading to summer, the almanac said.
Here’s when the winter solstice takes place in 2025 and how much more daylight Washington will get once it arrives:
When is the first day of winter in 2025?
Winter solstice typically falls on Dec. 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere, The Old Farmer’s Almanac said.
In 2025, the winter solstice happens on Sunday, Dec. 21.
The solstice “marks the official beginning of astronomical winter,” the almanac said, noting that a different definition of winter — meteorological winter — has a different timeline.
“Meteorological seasons follow the calendar and average temperatures,” the almanac said.
Meteorological winter begins on Dec. 1 and runs through February, according to the almanac.
What exactly is winter solstice?
The earth revolves around the sun in an “orbital plane,” which the Smithsonian Science Education Center described as “a flat disk, with the sun at the center, extending out toward the edges of our solar system.”
Earth tilts on its axis relative to the orbital plane, meaning “the north and south poles of our planet are not straight up and down as we orbit the sun,” the center said on its STEMvisions blog. “They are always at an angle.”
“Sometimes earth tilts toward the sun, which is when summer occurs,” the Smithsonian Science Education Center said. “In the winter, earth tilts away from the sun.”
Around Dec. 21 each year, “the Northern Hemisphere tilts the farthest away from the sun,” the center said. “This is called the northern winter solstice. It is when we have the least amount of daylight of any time of the year.”
While the Northern Hemisphere experiences winter, it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere — meaning that winter solstice happens there in June, NASA said.
What are sunrise and sunset times once winter begins?
In Olympia, daytime will last eight hours, 30 minutes and nine seconds on Sunday, Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year, according to Time and Date.
The sun will rise at 7:54 a.m. and set at 4:25 p.m. that day, the online clock and calendar said.
When will Washington start experiencing longer days?
In Washington, the days will start getting longer following the winter solstice.
However, you won’t see a big change at first.
Olympia will see eight hours, 30 minutes and 13 seconds of daytime on Monday Dec. 22, or about four seconds more than the day before, according to Time and Date.
Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham and Pasco all will gain three to four seconds of daytime between Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, Time and Date said.
How much sunlight will we see by spring? Summer?
Washington will continue gaining sunlight as 2026 begins.
By the spring equinox on Friday, March 20, Washington state will experience more than 12 hours of daylight.
The Evergreen State will experience about 16 hours of daylight by the time the summer solstice — the longest day of the year — rolls around on Sunday, June 21, according to Time and Date.
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "It’s almost winter. When will Washington start getting more daylight?."
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