Something I've had to get used to, moving this far north, is the amount of sunlight during any given day, and the EXTREMES that come with the changing seasons.

Well, the seasons are changing again, and we're set to lose more than an hour of sunlight across all of Michigan in the next few weeks. Let "The Darkening" begin.

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Nature is a cruel beast. Just as we get used to sunrises before 6 a.m., and sunsets at practically 10 p.m., August comes outta nowhere and says "nuh-uh!" Each year, as fall descends on the country, Michigan, as well as the rest of the northern hemisphere, loses so much daylight time.

At the beginning of August, in lower Michigan, sunrises start somewhere around 6:30 a.m., and sunset comes right around 9 p.m.

But by the end of the month, we will have lost almost 70 minutes of sunlight as the sun dips further south on the horizon, toward the southern hemisphere.

But you think we've got it bad, Upper Michigan loses 80 minutes of sunlight this month, and the VERY tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula loses an hour and a half of sunlight in just 30 days.

Fall, and winter are on the horizon, and now's the time to get your summer affairs in order, because the next thing you know, we'll be knee-deep in "the white stuff" (we don't say the "S" word before October).

Summer and Winter Sunlight in Michigan

Long-time Michiganders are pretty well used to this now, but it's still interesting for people who have grown up further south how MUCH different the sunlight is in the winter and summer.

For instance, At the summer solstice, June 21st, Kalamazoo saw 15 hours and 15 minutes of sunlight. At the Winter Solstice, Sunrise doesn't come until after 8 a.m., and sunset happens at around 5:15, resulting in only about 9 hours of sunlight.

That's a six-hour loss/gain of sunlight every 6 months. And further north, it's worse.

In Eagle Harbor, Michigan, in the Keweenaw Peninsula, they'll see just short of 16 hours of sunlight at the summer solstice, and only eight and a half hours of sunlight at the winter solstice.

They literally lose NEARLY HALF of their sunlight during the winter.

So soak up the rays while you can. As they say in Game of Thrones....