diff --git a/src/migmose/parsing.py b/src/migmose/parsing.py
index 7ddfa8d..c8af366 100644
--- a/src/migmose/parsing.py
+++ b/src/migmose/parsing.py
@@ -67,11 +67,11 @@ def extract_date(file_path: Path) -> tuple[datetime, Path]:
 
     # Initialize variables to keep track of the latest file and date
     latest_file: Path
-    latest_date: datetime
+    latest_date: datetime | None = None
 
     for file_path in file_list:
         date, path = extract_date(file_path)
-        if date > latest_date:
+        if latest_date is None or date > latest_date:
             latest_file = path
             latest_date = date