Minnesota enters the 'civil twilight zone'

This is it Minnesota. This is the weekend you’ve been waiting for.

Minnesotans are hearty weather folk.

• We put up with December days when it gets dark at 4 p.m.

• We endure bitter life-threatening Janaury windchills of minus 40 degrees.

• We risk white-knuckle February commutes in a foot of snow on icy roads.

• We grimace through freak April snowstorms when daffodils should be blooming.

Yes, we earn our summers in Minnesota. It’s time for our reward.

Sunset 9 p.m. through July 10

This is my favorite month of the year in Minnesota. Our sunset time is now 9 p.m. or later through July 10. We are now in the brightest month of the year in Minnesota.

Civil twilight is considered the time when there is still enough daylight to function outdoors without additional light. Evening civil twilight peaks at 9:41 p.m. the week of June 22.

With our long evening daylight on clear nights in open areas, it’s basically light enough to see outside until 10 p.m.

Congratulations Minnesota. We are in the “civil twilight zone” for about the next month.

Spectacular Saturday

It’s hard to come up with a recipe for a better summer Saturday in Minnesota. The morning begins frosty for parts of northeast Minnesota. But temperatures will warm rapidly by afternoon.

Highs in the 60s cover northeast Minnesota. Highs in the 70s to near 80 degrees favor the south. With low humidity and light southeast breezes, it doesn’t get much better.

Summery Sunday

South winds pipe up again Sunday. Gust could exceed 30 mph+ Sunday. That will whip up some whitecaps on Minnesota lakes Sunday.

Highs reach the 70s in most of Minnesota, to low 80s south by Sunday afternoon. Cooler by your favorite lake.

Heat next week

It still looks like we’ll see a respectable dose of heat and humidity next week. Forecast models have backed off the notion of 100 degrees, but highs well into the 90s look likely by Tuesday.

Enjoy our glorious weekend.