Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, causing clocks to “fall back”

Sierra Martin | Managing Editor

On Sunday, November 7, Daylight Savings time will end, causing people to gain one hour and set back their clocks, at 2 a.m. clocks will “fall back” to 1 a.m. 

For Daylight Savings Time, clocks “spring forward, fall back”, in springtime the clocks are moved forward from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. and in fall they are moved back from 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

Most of the United States participates in Daylight Savings Time in order to take advantage of available sunlight throughout the day. States that don’t participate include Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. 

Daylight Savings Time was adopted by the United States in 1918 to save on energy and money during World War I, where coal was the driving force of producing energy in the country. After WWI, the US has had a complicated history with Daylight Savings Time, and opted to let states and localities decide if they participated. This led to a confusing patchwork of time zones, leading to daylight saving policies that varied in length and by city, state and municipality. 

The transportation industry’s confusion surrounding differing time zones led to the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which mandated standard time within the established time zones and set the rules for Daylight Savings Time. States could opt out of the act, as long as the entire state agreed. 

Throughout US History, there have been multiple extensions and adjustments to Daylight Savings Time, and it has adapted to what we know today; Daylight Saving Time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, with the time changes taking place at 2:00 a.m. local time.