MINNEAPOLIS— Saturday marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.
To help you get through the lack of sunlight, WCCO has put together a guide to the solstice in the Twin Cities, including how short the day will be, when the sun rises and sets and more.
What is the winter solstice?
The winter solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, located 23.5 degrees south of the equator, according to the National Weather Service. It marks the moment when Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is at its maximum tilt away from the Sun.
When will the winter solstice occur?
This year the solstice will occur at 3:21 a.m. central time in the Northern Hemisphere.
When will the sun rise and set in the Twin Cities on the day of the solstice?
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, sunrise in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (the weather station that represents the standards and records of the Twin Cities) will take place on Saturday at 7:46 am. The sun sets at 4:36 PM
How short will the day of the solstice be?
MSP will see eight hours and 50 minutes of sunlight, according to the almanac. By Christmas Day we will add another minute of sunlight, and from then on the days will only get longer, until we reach maximum sunlight on the summer solstice. That will happen on June 20, 2025.
Will this be the last sunrise and earliest sunset of the year?
If there’s an upside to the darkest day of the year, MSP Airport has already seen its earliest sunsets of the year – they happened earlier this month. From December 4 to December 14, the sun set at 4:33 PM – three minutes earlier than the sunset after the solstice.
Our last sunrises are ahead of us. For the last few days of 2024, the sun rises at 7:48 a.m. in Minneapolis, about two minutes later than sunrise on the solstice.
WCCO personnel
