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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Brighter days: Gaining 2 minutes of daylight per day by this weekend

Sunset moving past 5 p.m. in the Twin Cities; civil twilight now past 5:30 p.m.

Daylight for Minneapolis
Daylight for Minneapolis. Note the later sunset and increasing daylight. Also, civil twilight is now after 5:30 pm.
timeanddate.com

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It’s still bright in the Weather Lab as I type this post around 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

December’s darkness is gone. It no longer feels like the sun is beginning to fade shortly after lunchtime.

Warm sunset on January 11 at the Weather Lab
A January sunset at the Weather Lab in the southwest Twin Cities.
Paul Huttner | MPR News

Sunset time in the Twin Cities has reached 5 p.m. this week. We’re gaining two minutes of daylight per day starting this weekend, and we’ll be gaining 2 minutes and 30 seconds of new daylight per day by the end of January.

You can see the rapidly escalating daylight in the chart at the top of this post from timeanddate.com.

Here are some daylight milestones ahead in the coming month for Minnesota. Times are for the Twin Cities area.

Feb. 1

  • Sunset 5:20 p.m.

  • Civil twilight 5:51 p.m.

Feb. 15

  • Sunset 5:40 p.m.

  • Civil twilight 6:10 p.m.

Feb. 29

  • Sunset 6:00 p.m.

  • Civil twilight 6:29 p.m.

The civil twilight zone

I love the notion of civil twilight as our evening daylight grows longer. Civil twilight is defined as the time when there is still enough light to navigate outdoors by foot. Here’s more on civil twilight from timeanddate.com:

Civil twilight is the brightest of the 3 twilight phases. The Sun is just below the horizon, so there is generally enough natural light to carry out most outdoor activities.

Each twilight phase is defined by the solar elevation angle, which is the position of the Sun in relation to the horizon. During civil twilight, the geometric center of the Sun's disk is at most 6 degrees below the horizon. In the morning, this twilight phase ends at sunrise; in the evening it begins at sunset. Sunrise and sunset are the moments when the Sun's upper edge touches the horizon.

As the Earth's atmosphere scatters and reflects much of the Sun's rays, coloring the sky bright yellow and orange, artificial lighting is generally not required in clear weather conditions to carry out most outdoor activities. Only the brightest stars and planets, like Venus and Jupiter, can be seen with the naked eye.

Twilight phases
Twilight phases
timeanddate.com

Our growing civil twilight and longer evening light are a boost to my spirits as we move through what are usually the doldrums of winter in Minnesota.

Enjoy our rapidly increasing daylight!