Silver linings: Brighter evenings now in Minnesota
Have you noticed the later sunsets yet?
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Have you noticed it yet?
You may have observed it’s a little brighter on your evening drive home in the past few weeks. A month ago, the sunset occurred at 4:31 p.m. in the Twin Cities. That’s the earliest sunset time of the year in Minnesota. On cloudy days, it felt like it was starting to get dark a little after lunchtime.
But over the past month, we’ve gained a full 15 minutes of daylight in the evening. That’s because sunset times in Minnesota are now about a minute later every day.
Monday’s sunset in the Twin Cities occurs at 4:46 pm. And if you factor in civil twilight, it stays light enough to operate outside on clear evenings until 5:20 pm. The western sky glows bright even later than that on clear evenings.
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5 p.m. sunset ahead
One personal milestone for me to know we’re moving through the long winter season is when the sunset hits 5 p.m. This happens at the end of next week on Saturday, Jan. 18.
On that day, the sunset occurs at 5:01 p.m. in the Twin Cities. And civil twilight that day happens at 5:33 p.m. With nautical twilight after 6 p.m., that means there is still a glow in the western sky after 6 p.m.
Summer solstice peak sunset
Want to know a little secret from the Weather Lab? There’s a reason I usually take my summer vacation just after the summer solstice in late June. That’s when we achieve the latest sunset times of the year in Minnesota.
For several years I’ve traveled solo to a little secret undisclosed campsite in the Boundary Waters that has a northwest exposure across the lake. It’s amazing how much an unobstructed sky view northwest increases daylight in the evening up north in summer.
In late June, the sunset at my location occurs at about 9:07 p.m. But civil twilight lingers until around 9:47 p.m. with nautical twilight lasting until 10:44 p.m.
That means I can basically walk around my campsite without added light until after 10 p.m. And I still see a glow in the northern sky until close to midnight.
That’s pretty cool in my book.
