Central, LA: shortest day and earliest sunset
The shortest day in Central
On Dec 21 the sun rises at 6:57 am and sets at 5:07 pm: 10h 10m of daylight, a bright winter. The longest day of summer has 14h 08m, so the swing is 3h 57m.
When it gets better in Central
- Earliest sunset: 5:03 pm on Dec 2, before the shortest day (here is why).
- Latest sunrise (standard time): 7:02 am on Jan 9.
- Daylight never drops below 10 hours here.
- By Feb 21 the days grow by 1.8 minutes a day.
Waking and coming home in the dark
With a 7:00 am alarm, the sun is not yet up on 50 weekdays a year. Heading home at 5:30 pm, it has already set on 58. 18 weekdays start and end in the dark. The alarm and lamp guide shows how that compares across the country.
At 30.6°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 Central
- You probably do not need a sunrise alarm clock for a 7:00 am start here: only 0 weekday mornings are still properly dark. If you get up earlier, check the hour against the sunrise times in the table below.
- Daylight alone gives little reason for a light therapy lamp here. Getting outside in the 6:57 am to 5:07 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 2 to Jan 20: worth checking your bike lights and porch light before Nov 2.
Daylight in Central, month by month
Sunrise, sunset and day length on the 21st of each month, local clock time. December is the darkest, at 10h 10m.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 6:16 am | 8:05 pm | 13h 50m |
| August 2026 | 6:34 am | 7:40 pm | 13h 05m |
| September 2026 | 6:52 am | 7:02 pm | 12h 10m |
| October 2026 | 7:11 am | 6:26 pm | 11h 16m |
| November 2026 | 6:35 am | 5:04 pm | 10h 29m |
| December 2026 | 6:57 am | 5:07 pm | 10h 10m |
| January 2027 | 7:00 am | 5:31 pm | 10h 30m |
| February 2027 | 6:39 am | 5:57 pm | 11h 18m |
| March 2027 | 7:07 am | 7:16 pm | 12h 09m |
| April 2027 | 6:30 am | 7:36 pm | 13h 05m |
| May 2027 | 6:06 am | 7:55 pm | 13h 49m |
| June 2027 | 6:02 am | 8:10 pm | 14h 08m |
Central against the places around it
On the shortest day, compared with Central (10h 10m, sunset 5:07 pm):
- Baker, LA, 7 mi away: 10h 10m of daylight (0 min), sunset 5:08 pm (+1 min).
- Baton Rouge, LA, 10 mi away: 10h 11m of daylight (+1 min), sunset 5:08 pm (+1 min).
- Zachary, LA, 11 mi away: 10h 10m of daylight (0 min), sunset 5:08 pm (+1 min).
- Gonzales, LA, 25 mi away: 10h 12m of daylight (+2 min), sunset 5:08 pm (+1 min).
- Hammond, LA, 35 mi away: 10h 11m of daylight (+1 min), sunset 5:05 pm (-2 min).