Earliest sunset of 2026 in Charlotte
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Charlotte is at 5:10 PM on Saturday, December 5. The clock reads 5:10 PM at sunset every day from December 3 to December 7; December 5 is when it is earliest to the second.
Sunset in Charlotte around the earliest day
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 28 | 7:10 AM | 5:11 PM | 10 h 1 min | −14 s |
| Nov 29 | 7:11 AM | 5:11 PM | 10 h 0 min | −12 s |
| Nov 30 | 7:12 AM | 5:11 PM | 9 h 59 min | −11 s |
| Dec 1 | 7:13 AM | 5:11 PM | 9 h 58 min | −9 s |
| Dec 2 | 7:14 AM | 5:11 PM | 9 h 57 min | −7 s |
| Dec 3 | 7:15 AM | 5:10 PM | 9 h 56 min | −5 s |
| Dec 4 | 7:16 AM | 5:10 PM | 9 h 55 min | −3 s |
| Dec 5 | 7:17 AM | 5:10 PM | 9 h 54 min | −1 s |
| Dec 6 | 7:17 AM | 5:10 PM | 9 h 53 min | +1 s |
| Dec 7 | 7:18 AM | 5:10 PM | 9 h 52 min | +3 s |
| Dec 8 | 7:19 AM | 5:11 PM | 9 h 52 min | +5 s |
| Dec 9 | 7:20 AM | 5:11 PM | 9 h 51 min | +7 s |
| Dec 10 | 7:21 AM | 5:11 PM | 9 h 50 min | +9 s |
| Dec 11 | 7:21 AM | 5:11 PM | 9 h 50 min | +11 s |
| Dec 12 | 7:22 AM | 5:11 PM | 9 h 49 min | +13 s |
The earliest sunset comes before the winter solstice
The shortest day of 2026 in Charlotte is December 21, with 9 h 47 min of daylight, but the earliest sunset is 16 days before it. Solar noon, the moment the sun is highest, is not fixed at the same clock time: because the Earth’s axis is tilted and its orbit is an ellipse, it drifts later by about half a minute a day in December. So sunset starts getting later in early December while sunrise is still getting later even faster, and the days keep shrinking until the solstice. The latest sunrise of the winter does not come until January 7, 2027, at 7:32 AM.
By December 31 the sun sets at 5:21 PM, 10 minutes later than on December 5. The earliest sunset falls in standard time, after the clocks went back on November 1; see when it starts getting dark earlier in Charlotte for the whole autumn.
How these times are calculated
Times are for Charlotte (35.23° N, 80.84° W), calculated with the NOAA solar-position algorithm for a flat horizon, in local clock time (America/New York), including daylight saving time where it applies. They are the same numbers as on the Charlotte sunset and sunrise pages and are usually within a minute of published tables. Hills and buildings can hide the sun a few minutes early.