Seasonal figures below use a 2025 reference year. Choose a date in the planner above for that day’s times, golden hour, twilight, and daylight milestones.
Seasonal Sun Milestones in Moorhead
Moorhead's 9 PM sunsets run from about May 19 to July 31 — 74 evenings in a typical year. The wider season of sunsets at 7 PM or later lasts 210 days, from March 9 to October 4. At the other end of the year, sunsets before 5 PM begin around November 9 and last until January 10.
Days in Moorhead first reach 12 hours of daylight around March 17, a few days before the March equinox, and drop back under 12 hours after September 24. Days with at least 15 hours of daylight run from May 14 to July 28. Days with less than 9 hours of daylight run from November 25 to January 15 (52 days).
The Sun's rising point moves along the horizon too. Around the June solstice it rises in the NE (53°) and sets in the NW (307°); by the December solstice it rises in the SE (124°) and sets in the SW (236°). That is a 71° swing — worth knowing when choosing a west-facing viewpoint for a summer sunset or an east-facing window for winter morning light.
Dates use the 2025 reference year. Clock-time milestones near daylight-saving changes move with the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.
Daylight Through the Year in Moorhead
Moorhead lies at 46.87°N, high enough in latitude that residents feel the seasons clearly in the length of the day. Between the summer and winter solstice, daylight in Moorhead changes by 7h 21m.
On the summer solstice around June 21, Moorhead receives 15h 53m of daylight — the longest day of the year. By the winter solstice around December 21, that shrinks to 8h 32m, the shortest day. At the spring and autumn equinoxes, day and night are nearly equal at about 12h 11m, as they are everywhere on Earth.
Sunset moves fastest around September, when it shifts by up to 2.0 minutes a day in Moorhead, and barely moves for weeks around the solstices. See how sunrise and sunset change through the year for why.
The Sun's Path Over Moorhead
Where the Sun sits in the sky over Moorhead depends on the season, and the contrast between summer and winter is set by the city's latitude of 46.87°N. On the summer solstice the midday Sun reaches 66.6° above the horizon in Moorhead, its highest point of the year. On the winter solstice the midday Sun only reaches 19.7°, sitting much lower in the southern sky and casting long shadows even at noon.
Those roughly 47 degrees separating the summer and winter midday Sun are exactly what give Moorhead its seasons.
The live sun path at the top of this page shows the Sun's altitude and compass bearing for the current moment or any chosen date.
Earliest and Latest Sunrises and Sunsets in Moorhead
It is natural to assume Moorhead sees its latest sunset on the longest day of the year, but it does not. The latest sunset actually falls around June 25 at about 9:26 PM, while the earliest sunset comes around December 10 at roughly 4:38 PM — noticeably before the December solstice.
On the morning side, the earliest sunrise in Moorhead is around June 15 at 5:32 AM, and the latest sunrise around January 1 at 8:12 AM. The equation of time and daylight saving pull these dates away from the solstices — explained in why the latest sunset isn't on the longest day.
How Daylight Saving Time Moves Sunrise and Sunset in Moorhead
Moorhead, Minnesota changes its clocks twice a year, and both changes are visible in this page's numbers. On the second Sunday in March, Moorhead springs forward and the evening changes overnight: sunset jumps from about 6:23 PM on Saturday to about 7:25 PM on Sunday. The price is paid at dawn — sunrise slips from around 6:53 AM back to 7:51 AM, so mornings turn dark again just as they were brightening.
The reverse comes on the first Sunday in November, when clocks fall back: sunset drops from about 6:11 PM to 5:09 PM in a single day — the abrupt start of the early-dusk season — while sunrise brightens from around 8:10 AM to 7:11 AM.
Only the clock label shifts on those Sundays; the times above are for a typical year. More in how daylight saving time changes sunrise and sunset.
Golden Hour & Blue Hour Photography in Moorhead
For photographers in Moorhead, Minnesota, the planner shows your selected date's morning and evening golden-hour and blue-hour windows. Choose Today, Tomorrow, or a date in the calendar; all clock times are calculated in Moorhead's local timezone.
Golden "hour" is a misnomer — its length in Moorhead depends on the season, because it lasts as long as the Sun takes to climb from the horizon to 6° (or descend back). Around the equinoxes it runs about 40 minutes; near the June solstice, when the Sun rises and sets at a shallower angle, it stretches to roughly 47 minutes, and near the December solstice it lasts about 52 minutes.
See the golden hour guide and blue hour guide for how to plan a shoot around these windows.
Solar Energy Potential in Moorhead
Under clear skies, Moorhead, Minnesota receives about 4.5 peak sun hours per day averaged across the year — from roughly 1.1 in December up to 8.1 in June. One peak sun hour equals one hour of sunlight at full intensity (1 kW/m²), the standard unit for estimating solar panel output.
Because Moorhead sits at 46.9°N, a fixed, south-facing panel captures the most energy over the year when tilted at roughly 47° from horizontal — about equal to the latitude. If you adjust the tilt seasonally, flatten to about 32° in summer, when the Sun rides high, and steepen to about 62° in winter, when it stays low.
These are clear-sky upper bounds from Moorhead's solar geometry, not a forecast; clouds, shading, and equipment lower real output. See what peak sun hours mean.
How Moorhead Compares
Daylight in Moorhead swings 7h 21m between the June and December solstices. The median across the 1,847 cities on this site is 5h 16m, so the seasons move the clock 2h 5m further in Moorhead than in a typical American city. By that measure Moorhead ranks 55th of 1,847 nationally, and 1st of the 43 Minnesota cities listed here — counting from the largest swing down.
Moorhead sits about 6.7° west of 90°W — the meridian Central Time is built around. Longitude alone therefore puts mean solar noon roughly 27 minutes after clock noon in standard time, so the Sun runs behind the clock here, which is why evenings hold light later than the time zone would suggest. The equation of time then moves true solar noon up to about 16 minutes either side of that through the year.
About Sun Times in Moorhead
Moorhead, Minnesota, has an estimated urban-area population of 45,036. Its primary county or equivalent is Clay; its center is at 46.87°N, 96.75°W. Clocks here follow Central Time, which is the timezone all sunrise, sunset, golden-hour and twilight times on this page are shown in.
Times are computed for Moorhead's city-center coordinates, so towns to the east see each event slightly earlier and towns to the west slightly later; the nearby-cities list above shows the typical gap.