Weather Words: Polar Day And Polar Night

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It might be hard to imagine living in darkness for several months at a time, but that's the reality for locations north of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.

During these times, it's referred to as a polar night. The opposite, polar day, occurs when there is 24-hour daylight.

A polar day is when the sun does not set and stays above the horizon for an extended period, while a polar night is when the sun never rises above the horizon. These phenomena are a result of Earth's tilt on its axis.

Utqiaġvik experiences a twilight period during the polar night (meaning there is enough light to see), where the sun is just below the horizon. It's like having a sunrise and sunset that lasts several hours, which can be incredibly beautiful and peaceful.

During the polar day, the sun doesn't remain directly overhead throughout the day. The brightness fluctuates depending on the sun's angle, but it never fully sets during the entire polar day period.

Despite its small population of under 5,000 residents, Utqiaġvik celebrates the return of the sun in a big way. The town’s schoolchildren and college students mark the occasion with a traditional “Welcome Back the Sun” dance, a centuries-old celebration of the return of daylight.

J​ennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.