Winter hasn't started yet, but the winter blues have arrived with dimmer days and 4 o'clock hour sunsets. The winter solstice, which is the shortest amount of daylight of the year, doesn't happen until Dec. 21, but for those looking for a light at the end of the tunnel (and some light during the evening commute) there is good news!

The earliest sunset in New York is a brutal 4:28 p.m. in early December. Although days will continue to get shorter through Dec. 21, the evenings get brighter. By the end of December, the sunset time is 4:38 p.m.

Solar noon, which is the time the sun is highest in the sky, actually doesn't happen at the same time every day. It shifts between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. depending on the time of the year.  As solar noon shifts later into the day, so does the sunrise and sunset time.

Another tidbit of good news, the darkest morning of the year has already happened. The sunset was 7:29 a.m. on Nov. 4, before the clock switched back to standard time. The latest winter sunrise of the year is 7:20 a.m. in early January. Unfortunately, if you're looking for milder days, patience is key! The coldest and snowiest time of the year typically happens a month after the Winter Solstice in mid-January to mid-February.