Clocks Fell Back Today as Daylight Saving Time 2026 Ends
Daylight saving time 2026 ended at 2 AM local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, when clocks across most of the U.S. fell back one hour to 1 AM. The change gave Americans an extra hour of sleep and returned the country to standard time, where it will stay until daylight saving time begins again on Sunday, March 14, 2027.
Smartphones, computers and smartwatches set to update automatically should already show the correct time. Apple, Google and Samsung each maintain support pages for checking a device’s clock, including Apple’s guide to iPhone date and time settings. Analog clocks, microwaves, ovens and many car dashboards still need a manual reset, so a quick check around the house can prevent a missed appointment or a late start Monday morning.
Evenings will now get dark noticeably earlier. For instance, in Boston, the sun rose at 7:16 AM and set at 5:39 PM on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. On Sunday, sunrise moved to 6:17 AM and sunset to 4:37 PM, which means many commuters will drive home in the dark. Drivers should allow extra following distance and watch closely for pedestrians and cyclists during the first few weeks after the switch.
Parents of young children may feel the change the most. The time shift landed overnight after Halloween, and the extra hour can disrupt kids’ sleep schedules for several days until they adjust.
Daylight saving time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, a schedule set by a 2005 federal law that took effect in 2007. Before then, clocks fell back on the last Sunday of October and sprang forward on the first Sunday of April. The 2027 start date falls unusually late because March begins on a Monday next year. In 2026, daylight saving time started on March 8.
Hawaii and most of Arizona didn’t change their clocks this weekend because they don’t observe daylight saving time. The Navajo Nation, which spans part of Arizona, does observe it, keeping the tribe on the same time as its communities in New Mexico and Utah. American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands also stay on standard time year-round.
The twice-yearly clock change could still end, depending on the Senate. The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, passed the House in July and now awaits Senate action. The bill would also let states opt out of daylight saving time altogether before the law takes effect.
President Trump supports the legislation and has accused Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a fellow Republican, of stalling it. Trump went as far as posting what he said was Cotton’s cellphone number on social media and urging supporters to call him. Cotton has pushed back, pointing out that Congress tried permanent daylight saving time before and reversed course “once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter.”
The U.S. first adopted daylight saving time in 1918 during World War I to conserve fuel. Congress brought back year-round daylight saving time during World War II and again during the 1970s energy crisis, though the 1970s version was dropped before reaching the ten-month mark. A uniform national start and end date wasn’t set until 1966.
The Sunshine Protection Act faces a hard deadline. Any bill still pending when the new Congress elected in Tuesday’s midterm elections takes office in early January will expire, forcing lawmakers to restart the process in both the House and Senate. Until Congress acts, Americans should plan to spring forward again at 2 AM on Sunday, March 14, 2027.
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