The wait is over: 24 hours of daylight arrives in Utqiagvik

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - In just a little over three months, Utqiagvik has gone from polar night to 24 hours of daylight. In the early morning hours on Monday, the sun officially peaked over the horizon after only setting nearly an hour earlier. The official time of sunrise was 2:52 AKDT.

This officially marks the start of the longest days that Utqiagvik will see from now until the sun sets again on August 2. The journey into the land of the midnight sun continues to inch further south, with all locations along and north of the Arctic Circle seeing 24 hours of daylight by June.

Areas farther south continue to gain a significant amount of daylight, as the journey towards the Summer Solstice continues. At its peak, Anchorage gained nearly 40 minutes of daylight a week. Since then it is still gaining well over 35 minutes of daylight a week, but it’s slowed down as the official start of summer arrives.

Across the state, people will see the longest day of the year on Sunday, June 20.

Here’s a list of Alaska cities and villages and their peak day length.

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