The Eastern Standard Time Zone roughly includes the states that are located on the Atlantic Coast. The states in this time zone are Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Idaho, Kansas. The Mountain Standard Time Zone is prevalent in the states that are part of the Rocky Mountains. Of these nine-time zones, four are in the contiguous United States, which comprises of the 48 adjoining states. > For information about world calendars, see Calendars through the Ages.Time Zones in the Contiguous United States More than 90 percent of homes in the United States have smoke detectors, but one-third are estimated to have dead or missing batteries. 'A working smoke detector more than doubles a person's chances of surviving a home fire,' says William McNabb of the Troy Fire Department in Michigan. Many fire departments encourage people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they change their clocks because Daylight Saving Time provides a convenient reminder. The Navajo Nation participates in the Daylight Saving Time policy, even in Arizona, due to its large size and location in three states. and its territories, Daylight Saving Time is NOT observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and Arizona. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.įor the U.S. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. Most people were at home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. was originally chosen as the changeover time because it was practical and minimized disruption. Other states solve the problem by saying that liquor can be served until 'two hours after midnight.' In practice, however, many establishments stay open an extra hour in the fall. So, can bars serve alcohol for that additional hour? Some states claim that bars actually stop serving liquor at 1:59 a.m., so they have already stopped serving when the time reverts to Standard Time. in the fall, however, the time switches back one hour. However, many states restrict bars from serving alcohol between 2:00 a.m. In the United States, Daylight Saving Time commences at 2:00 a.m.

In spring, clocks spring forward from 12:59 a.m. In spring, clocks spring forward from 1:59 a.m. Daylight Shifting Time would be better, and Daylight Time Shifting more accurate, but neither is politically desirable. Daylight Savings Time is also in common usage, and can be found in dictionaries.Īdding to the confusion is that the phrase Daylight Saving Time is inaccurate, since no daylight is actually saved. Nevertheless, many people feel the word savings (with an 's') flows more mellifluously off the tongue. Saving is used in the same way as saving a ball game, rather than as a savings account. Similar examples would be a mind-expanding book or a man-eating tiger.

Because of this, it would be more accurate to refer to DST as daylight-saving time. It modifies time and tells us more about its nature namely, that it is characterized by the activity of saving daylight. Saving is used here as a verbal adjective (a participle). The official spelling is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight Saving S Time. See more information about elsewhere in the world.ĭuring DST, clocks are turned forward an hour, effectively moving an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. In the EU, all time zones change at the same moment. It begins the last Sunday in March and ends the last Sunday in October. In the European Union, Summer Time begins and ends at 1:00 a.m. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. Most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m.

Time zones america