Clocks Fall Back Nov 1: Dark by 5pm in Seattle and Why Your Noodle Cravings Change

This Sunday, November 1, at 2 a.m., daylight saving time ends and the clocks in Seattle fall back an hour. You get an extra hour of sleep. In exchange, Seattle takes the evening. On Saturday the sun sets around 5:53 p.m. On Sunday it sets at 4:51 p.m., according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.

For UW students, that means walking out of a 3:30 lecture into dusk and out of the library into full dark. For everyone else, it’s the start of the stretch when dinner feels like it should be at 4:45. Here’s what’s happening, why your appetite seems to notice, and a few November events worth going out in the drizzle for.

How dark does Seattle actually get?

Pretty dark. Seattle sits farther north than Montreal, and the short days show it. USNO times for downtown Seattle:

• Saturday, Oct 31 (last day of daylight time): sunset about 5:53 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov 1 (clocks fall back): sunset 4:51 p.m., civil twilight over by 5:24 p.m.
• Monday, Nov 30: sunset 4:20 p.m.
• Monday, Dec 21 (winter solstice): sunset 4:20 p.m., sunrise 7:55 a.m.

So “dark by 5” is only a slight stretch. Starting Sunday the sun is down before 5, with the last of the twilight gone by about 5:25, and by late November even twilight is over before 5. Sunsets stay before 5 p.m. until late January. Add the low gray clouds that settle in this time of year, and some afternoons barely feel like afternoons.

Why your noodle cravings change when it gets dark

If you’ve noticed you want something warm, salty and carb-heavy the moment the light goes, you’re not imagining it. We’re a noodle shop, not a sleep lab, so here’s the general idea, hedged appropriately:

• Your body clock gets moved. The time change shifts meals and sleep by an hour overnight, and short days push the body toward winding down earlier. Lots of people end up hungry earlier and tired sooner.
• Less light, more comfort food. Many people report wanting more carbs in the darker months. Researchers have linked shorter days with seasonal shifts in mood and appetite, though how strong the effect is varies a lot from person to person.
• Cold and damp make warm food feel urgent. This one doesn’t need a citation. You walk in from 45 degrees and sideways mist and you want a hot bowl, not a salad.

The rainy-night case for a dry noodle

Here’s our slightly biased pitch. Soup ramen is wonderful, but on a wet night it’s also a logistics problem. Carry it home and the broth sloshes in the bag while the noodles go soft. Eat it in your dorm and you end up with a lukewarm pool of broth to deal with at the sink.

Aburasoba skips the broth entirely. It’s thick, chewy noodles served hot with a concentrated sauce and toppings, and you toss everything together right before eating. You get the warm, rich, salty comfort without the spill risk, and it holds up better on the walk home than a bowl of soup. (We wrote a whole aburasoba vs. ramen explainer if you want details.)

At Slurp Station on Brooklyn Ave NE, a regular Salt or Shoyu bowl with chashu is $14.99, and the fan-favorite Tokyo Ganso comes jumbo at $18.99. There’s also a vegan bowl. Full prices are on the menu page. We’re open daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and online ordering for pickup or delivery runs until 8:30 p.m. That means you can still get dinner well after the 4:51 p.m. sunset.

November events worth going out in the dark for

The trick to a Seattle winter is having a reason to leave the house. These picks come from the Conversational Kitchen November 2026 events newsletter. Credit goes to them for the roundup, and check each event’s own page before you go:

• Sun, Nov 1 · Día de Muertos, Seattle Center Armory, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. (free). The last day of Seattle Center’s Día de Muertos celebration, with community altars, art and performances. A good first-dark-evening outing. Info
• Thu, Nov 5 · Free First Thursday, Seattle Art Museum, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. (free). Free entry at SAM downtown (10 a.m.–8 p.m.) and the Seattle Asian Art Museum (10 a.m.–5 p.m.). Warm, dry and open after sunset. Info
• Sat, Nov 7 · Diwali: Lights of India, Seattle Center Armory, 12–6 p.m. (free). Music, dance, art and a cooking demo. It’s a festival of lights, which feels right for the first week of 4:50 p.m. sunsets. Info
• Tue, Nov 10 · Seattle Forest Week work party, Green Lake Park, 9 a.m.–noon (free). Help care for the urban forest, no experience needed. It’s close to campus and you’ll be back before it gets dark. Info
• Sat, Nov 14 · Seattle Hmong New Year, Seattle Center Armory, from 10 a.m. (free). Traditional clothing, dance and food celebrating the end of the harvest season. Info
• Sat, Nov 21 · Wing Luke Museum Holiday Market, Chinatown–International District, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. (free market admission). Asian American and Pacific Islander artists and small businesses. Museum admission is separate. Info

Closer to home, the University District Farmers Market runs year-round on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., on University Way NE between NE 50th and 52nd. It’s a daylight errand you can still fit in before the early sunset.

The clocks fall back Sunday, and the rain is already here. Get outside while it’s light, put one evening thing on the calendar, and have something hot ready for when you get home.