We've Officially Made It Through the 10 Darkest Weeks of the Year

Spring is coming. Not super soon, but soon enough. January 25th marked the 5th week since Winter Solstice (December 21st) meaning the 10 darkest weeks of the year are done and over with.

The five weeks leading up to the solstice, starting around mid-November are five of the darkest of the year, followed by the five after.

Winter solstice in 2022 brought sunrise to Minnesota at 7:47 am and sunset at 4:33 pm, giving us just 8 hours and 46 minutes of daylight.

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Let's compare that to January 30th, 2023. Sunrise is at 7:35 am and sunset is at 5:17 pm. There is a grand total of 9 hours and 42 minutes of daylight giving us almost an hour more than what we had just over five weeks ago.

Just for a boost of joy, I looked at what the end of February had in store for daylight, and on February 28th there will be just over 11 hours of daylight in Minnesota.

The darkest part of winter is over. Unfortunately, the hardest part, the cold and snow, is far from done. But at least it will be light out while we navigate life on the tundra.

Pictures from the 2023 World Snow Sculpting Championships In Stillwater Minnesota

The World Snow Sculpting Championships were held recently in Stillwater where teams from as far away as Mexico and Columbia competed against each other for a share of the top prize, medals, and the title of World's Best when it comes to snow sculpting.