(NEXSTAR) — The dark days of winter have been upon us for weeks now but that trend will soon be coming to an end, especially in some parts of the country that will gain an hour of daylight in January.
We have already surpassed the “shortest” day of winter — the day in which we see the fewest daylight hours — in late December. Some places in the U.S. had just six hours of sunlight that day.
Thankfully, the days have slowly been getting longer ever since. That trend will only ramp up through January.
Those in Alaska will see the biggest increase in daylight hours this month. On Jan. 1 in Anchorage, the sun rose at 10:14 a.m. and set around 3:53 p.m. local time, giving the city less than six hours of daylight. By the end of the month, the sun will rise at 9:23 a.m. and set after 5 p.m., NOAA’s Solar Calculator shows, giving Anchorage seven hours and 41 minutes of daylight.
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Areas closest to the Canadian border, like Seattle and Minnesota’s northern tip, will gain about an hour of daylight through January. But, as you move further south in the Lower 48, the increase will not be nearly as drastic.