The darkest time of the year, here is why?

image from pixabay.com 

Good morning, IT is cold out.  13F(-11C). with wind chill it feels like 3F ( -16C)  26F(-3C)  high today    14F( -10C)  low tonight.  JUST Darn cold.  Now what is the temperature in Sale Australia 73 F (23C) high  with 82% humidity.   Remember they are in spring soon summer while we are in this fall soon wintertime.  They are also in the same growing zone as Florida.   In October when we were there it was perfect weather for us.  Not too cold, not too hot and humid. 

I am feeling the less amount of sunlight during this time of year.  I don’t know how people in Alaska can deal without any sunlight during this time of year.  Here is the reason why less sunlight.  Stay safe, stay warm. 
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The Darkest Time of the Year (and the Earliest Sunsets)
Why the Earliest Sunset of the Year is NOT on the Solstice  by Bob Berman
Does it feel darker this time of year? Many folks think it’s darkest on the winter solstice. But it’s in early December! Bob Berman explains this phenomenon.
To most of us in North America, this is a dark time of year—and you’re right. The sunsets come exceedingly early. It might surprise you to learn that the earliest sunsets come several weeks before the winter solstice, not on the solstice, as many would guess.
This puzzles people, but it’s a reliable yearly sequence.
Now this is what is happening in Australia the southern hemisphere with their sunrise and sunset. 
City                 Sunrise          Sunset           Hours of daylight    Solar noon as of Dec 3rd
Melbourne   05:49 am      08:30 pm      14:40 h          01:09 pm
Compared to Iowa on Dec 3rd
Sunrise/Sunset                   Daylength
6:52 am  5:11 pm               10:18:31
When is the Darkest Day of Winter?
First comes the earliest sunset, in early December.
Then there’s the winter solstice half a month later—on December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere—the day with the fewest minutes of daylight.
Finally, another 2 weeks later, in early January, we get our murkiest morning—the latest sunrise.
In early December, North America slams bang at the low point of afternoon sunshine. And since far more people are awake and aware of things at 4:30 PM than they are at 6 in the morning, in a very real sense, you can forget about the solstice and the official “shortest day of the year” in terms of daylight.
The Darkest Time of Year
So far as what most folks actually experience, early December is the darkest time of the year.
For example, in Boston, the Sun started setting at 4:13 p.m. on December 3 and won’t start setting later, at 4:14 p.m., until December 15.
Of course, the degree of darkness varies, depending on how far north you live. The time the clock reads at sunset also depends on how far east or west your home sits relative to your standard time zone.
Why is the earliest sunset well before the winter solstice?
Simply put, it all reflects the reality that tropical sunsets hardly vary throughout the year, while polar sunsets change wildly through the seasons. If you lived smack on the equator, like in Quito, Ecuador, your minutes of daylight would never budge throughout the year, not even by one second.
By contrast, our northern friends in Canada and Alaska experience the most radically short days in December.
But wherever you live, before the winter solstice starts, the afternoons will start getting brighter!
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/when-darkest-time-year
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa [email protected]  641-794-3337  cell 641-903-9365