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Daylight Saving Time Starts This Weekend; Set Your Clocks Forward One Hour Saturday Night

By Nathan Ham

This Sunday marks the official start date of Daylight Saving Time at 2 a.m., so don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour on Saturday night before you go to bed. Daylight Saving Time will last through Sunday, November 1 at 2 a.m.

The spring tradition of setting your clocks forward dates back to the first time the United States Government enacted Daylight Saving Time in 1918. All states observe Daylight Saving Time except for Hawaii and most of Arizona, although movements over the last few years by several state governments have worked to do away with the time changes each year. However, those states cannot make their own laws to ignore Daylight Saving Time without the approval of the federal government. So far, no additional states have received approval to stop observing Daylight Saving Time. United States territories such as Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November each year. The current schedule was introduced in 2007 and follows the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The United States Department of Transportation is responsible for each state’s current use of Daylight Saving Time. Prior to the Uniform Time Act of 1966, states were able to change their clocks at different times. This caused many issues, including traveling as transportation by train, airplane and vehicles on the highway could have their arrival and departure times threw off as they traveled to different states who were observing Daylight Saving Time at different intervals.

On Sunday morning, the sun will rise at 7:46 a.m. and the sun will set at 7:28 p.m. The amount of daylight will continue to increase each day until June 20, which is the longest day of the year and the first day of the summer season. The first day of spring will be on Thursday, March 19.