MINNEAPOLIS – Saturday marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

To help you endure the lack of sunlight, WCCO has put together a Guide to Solstice in the Twin Cities, including information on how short the day will be, when the sun will rise and set, and more.

What is the winter solstice?

According to the National Weather Service, the winter solstice occurs when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, which is 23.5 degrees south of the equator. It marks the moment when the Earth’s northern hemisphere is tilted maximally away from the Sun.

When does the winter solstice take place?

This year, the Northern Hemisphere solstice will occur at 3:21 a.m. Central Time.

When does the sun rise and set on solstice day in the Twin Cities?

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, sunrise in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (the weather station that represents the Twin Cities’ standards and records) will perform at 7:46 a.m. Saturday. The sun will set at 4:36 p.m

How short will the day of the solstice be?

According to the Almanac, MSP will see eight hours and 50 minutes of sunlight. We’ll add another minute of sunlight by Christmas Day, and the days will only get longer from then until we reach peak solar radiation on the summer solstice. This will happen on June 20, 2025.

Will this be the latest sunrise and earliest sunset of the year?

If there’s anything good about the darkest day of the year, MSP Airport has already seen its earliest sunsets of the year – those occurred earlier this month. From December 4th to 14th, the sun set at 4:33 p.m. – three minutes earlier than the post-solstice sunset.

Our newest sunrises are ahead of us. In the final days of 2024, the sun will rise in Minneapolis at 7:48 a.m., about two minutes later than the solstice sunrise.