Darkest Before Dawn?

Dear Doctor Wizard,
Hi!  Thanks for taking my question.  I think you're really cool, and read your blog all the time.
Okay, here goes:
Is it really always darkest before the dawn? 
Signed, Nightowl 

Dear Nighty,
First of all, don't be so damned obsequious.  Nobody likes a suck-up, and readers will assume you're a plant, tossing up slow pitches for me to hit out of the park.  Besides, you couldn't have read my blog before, since yours is the first question.
That being said ... good question!  My advice, never say 'never', and rarely say 'always'.  As comforting as the thought may be that it's always darkest before the dawn, reality doesn't need to conform to our comfort.  In the most literal sense, it is darkest before the dawn.  But one should not infer from this that it's darkest immediately before the dawn.  In the absence of artificial light (nearby cities, campfires, etc), and normalizing for the stage of the moon, it's actually darkest about midway from dusk and dawn, when the sun is directly opposite one's position on the surface of the Earth - midnight ... way before dawn.  
If you still want to find words of assurance for a friend in need, it is (normalizing once again for transient phenomena such as weather fronts, etc.) generally coldest before the dawn ... or soon thereafter.
I hope that helps.
Cheerfully,
Dr. Wizard