Current:Home > ScamsDo all Americans observe daylight saving time? Why some states and territories don't. -Wealth Evolution Experts
Do all Americans observe daylight saving time? Why some states and territories don't.
PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-11 02:45:59
Millions of Americans will wake up feeling more refreshed on Sunday thanks to an extra hour of sleep gained from the ending of daylight saving time.
But the twice-annual time change observance, which begins in March and ends in November, is not observed in all U.S. states and territories.
The time change is meant to allow for more daylight in the mornings during the fall and winter and more daylight in the evenings during the spring and summer, as the Northern Hemisphere tilts either toward or farther away from the sun.
Here's what to know about the U.S. states and territories that do not observe daylight saving time.
Video:Watch the top astronomy events for November 2024
Does every state observe daylight saving time?
Not all states and U.S. territories participate in the time change.
If a state chooses to observe daylight saving time, it must begin and end on federally mandated dates, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Under the Uniform Time Act, which was established in 1966, states can exempt themselves from observing daylight saving time.
Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time. Because of its desert climate, Arizona doesn't follow daylight saving time (with the exception of the Navajo Nation). After most of the U.S. adopted the Uniform Time Act, the state figured that there wasn't a good reason to adjust clocks to make sunset occur an hour later during the hottest months of the year.
There are also five other U.S. territories that do not participate:
- American Samoa
- Guam
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Puerto Rico
- U.S. Virgin Islands
The Navajo Nation, located in parts of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, does follow daylight saving time.
Hawaii is the other state that does not observe daylight saving time. Because of the state's proximity to the equator, there is not a lot of variance between hours of daylight during the year.
When does daylight saving time end in 2024?
Daylight saving time will end for the year at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 3, when we "fall back" and gain an extra hour of sleep.
Next year, it will begin again on Sunday, March 9, 2025.
What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time is the time between March and November when most Americans adjust their clocks ahead by one hour.
We gain an hour in November (as opposed to losing an hour in the spring) to make for more daylight in the winter mornings. When we "spring forward" in March, it's to add more daylight in the evenings. In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox is Sunday, Sept. 22, marking the start of the fall season.
Is daylight saving time ending?
The push to stop changing clocks was put before Congress in the last couple of years, when the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act in 2022, a bill to make daylight saving time permanent.
Although the Sunshine Protection Act was passed unanimously by the Senate in 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives did not pass it and President Joe Biden did not sign it.
A 2023 version of the act remained idle in Congress, as well.
In a news release Monday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio made another push in support of making daylight saving time permanent.
The senator suggested the nation "stop enduring the ridiculous and antiquated practice of switching our clocks back and forth. Let’s finally pass my Sunshine Protection Act and end the need to ‘fall back’ and ‘spring forward’ for good."
Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY.
veryGood! (36371)
Related
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Uber raises minimum age for most California drivers to 25, saying insurance costs are too high
- See you on Copacabana? Unusually balmy weather hits Brazil in a rare winter heat wave
- Average long-term US mortgage rate jumps to 7.23% this week to highest level since June 2001
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- North West Recreates Kanye West’s Classic Polo Look During Tokyo Trip With Mom Kim Kardashian
- San Antonio shooter wounds 2 officers during car pursuit, police say
- Florida school officials apologize for assembly singling out Black students about low test scores
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- It's still a haute mess, but I can't resist 'And Just Like That...'
Ranking
- Trump's 'stop
- Kristin Smart's killer hospitalized after prison attack left him in serious condition
- Extreme fire weather fueled by climate change played significant role in Canada's wildfires, new report says
- In a rebuke to mayor, New Orleans puts a historic apartment out of her reach and into commerce
- Sam Taylor
- North Carolina governor to veto election bill, sparking override showdown with GOP supermajority
- What exactly is colostrum, the popular supplement? And is it good for you?
- Bryan Kohberger's trial is postponed after Idaho student stabbings suspect waives right to speedy trial
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
San Antonio shooter wounds 2 officers during car pursuit, police say
Attention road trippers! These apps play vacation planner, make life on the road a dream
WWE star Bray Wyatt, known for the Wyatt Family and 'The Fiend,' dies at age 36
'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
Kansas judge seals court documents in car chase that ended in officer’s shooting death
Vincennes University trustees vote to expand Red Skelton Performing Arts Center
How does Mercury retrograde affect us? Here's an astrologer's guide to survival.