Cape Canaveral, FL: shortest day and earliest sunset
The shortest day in Cape Canaveral
On Dec 21 the sun rises at 7:10 am and sets at 5:31 pm: 10h 20m of daylight, a bright winter. The longest day of summer has 13h 57m, so the swing is 3h 37m.
When it gets better in Cape Canaveral
- Earliest sunset: 5:26 pm on Dec 1, before the shortest day (here is why).
- Latest sunrise (standard time): 7:16 am on Jan 10.
- Daylight never drops below 10 hours here.
- By Feb 21 the days grow by 1.6 minutes a day.
Waking and coming home in the dark
With a 7:00 am alarm, the sun is not yet up on 117 weekdays a year. Heading home at 5:30 pm, it has already set on 26. 10 weekdays start and end in the dark. The alarm and lamp guide shows how that compares across the country.
At 28.4°N this sits between Sarasota FL (27°N, 1.4%) and Nashua NH (43°N, 9.7%) in a 1990 survey of winter depression by latitude.
What to do about it in Cape Canaveral
- A sunrise alarm clock is worth considering if you get up at 7:00 am or earlier: 24 weekday mornings here are still properly dark at that hour, mostly between Aug 31 and Apr 12.
- Daylight alone gives little reason for a light therapy lamp here. Getting outside in the 7:10 am to 5:31 pm window on the shortest day does more than most people expect.
- If you head home at 5:30 pm, the sun has already set from Nov 13 to Dec 18: worth checking your bike lights and porch light before Nov 13.
Daylight in Cape Canaveral, month by month
Sunrise, sunset and day length on the 21st of each month, local clock time. December is the darkest, at 10h 20m.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 6:38 am | 8:19 pm | 13h 41m |
| August 2026 | 6:55 am | 7:55 pm | 13h 00m |
| September 2026 | 7:10 am | 7:20 pm | 12h 10m |
| October 2026 | 7:27 am | 6:47 pm | 11h 20m |
| November 2026 | 6:49 am | 5:27 pm | 10h 37m |
| December 2026 | 7:10 am | 5:31 pm | 10h 20m |
| January 2027 | 7:15 am | 5:53 pm | 10h 38m |
| February 2027 | 6:55 am | 6:17 pm | 11h 22m |
| March 2027 | 7:25 am | 7:34 pm | 12h 09m |
| April 2027 | 6:51 am | 7:51 pm | 13h 00m |
| May 2027 | 6:29 am | 8:09 pm | 13h 40m |
| June 2027 | 6:26 am | 8:23 pm | 13h 57m |
Cape Canaveral against the places around it
On the shortest day, compared with Cape Canaveral (10h 20m, sunset 5:31 pm):
- Cocoa Beach, FL, 5 mi away: 10h 21m of daylight (+1 min), sunset 5:31 pm (0 min).
- Rockledge, FL, 9 mi away: 10h 21m of daylight (+1 min), sunset 5:31 pm (0 min).
- Cocoa, FL, 10 mi away: 10h 20m of daylight (0 min), sunset 5:31 pm (0 min).
- Satellite Beach, FL, 15 mi away: 10h 21m of daylight (+1 min), sunset 5:31 pm (0 min).
- Titusville, FL, 18 mi away: 10h 19m of daylight (-1 min), sunset 5:31 pm (0 min).