Daylight Saving Time is here

[cycloneye]

A sign that Spring is upon us (Dont tell that to the folks in the SE U.S. now),here is this annual excercise that is done in the majority of the U.S. except in some states like Arizona.Next Sunday at 2:00 AM EDT,move the clocks ahead one hour at that date and you will have one hour of less sleep.More information about this below and at link.

When we change our clocks?

Most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time.

In the European Union, Summer Time begins and ends at 1:00 a.m. Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time). It begins the last Sunday in March and ends the last Sunday in October. In the EU, all time zones change at the same moment.

Spring forward, Fall back

During DST, clocks are turned forward an hour, effectively moving an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.

United
States
European
Union

The official spelling is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight SavingS Time.

Saving is used here as a verbal adjective (a participle). It modifies time and tells us more about its nature; namely, that it is characterized by the activity of saving daylight. It is a saving daylight kind of time. Because of this, it would be more accurate to refer to DST as daylight-saving time. Similar examples would be a mind-expanding book or a man-eating tiger. Saving is used in the same way as saving a ball game, rather than as a savings account.

Nevertheless, many people feel the word savings (with an 's') flows more mellifluously off the tongue. Daylight Savings Time is also in common usage, and can be found in dictionaries.

Adding to the confusion is that the phrase Daylight Saving Time is inaccurate, since no daylight is actually saved. Daylight Shifting Time would be better, and Daylight Time Shifting more accurate, but neither is politically desirable.


When in the morning?

In the U.S., clocks change at 2:00 a.m. local time. In spring, clocks spring forward from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.; in fall, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. In the EU, clocks change at 1:00 a.m. Universal Time. In spring, clocks spring forward from 12:59 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.; in fall, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

In the U.S., restaurants and bars have various closing policies. In many states, liquor cannot be served after 2:00 a.m. But at 2:00 a.m. in the fall, the time switches back one hour. So, can they serve alcohol for that additional hour in October? The official answer is that the bars do not stop serving liquor at 2:00 a.m., but actually at 1:59 a.m. So, they have already stopped serving when the time changes from Daylight Saving Time into Standard Time. In practice, however, many establishments stay open an extra hour in the fall.

In the U.S., 2:00 a.m. was originally chosen as the changeover time because it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. It is late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak, and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early churchgoers are affected.


Some U.S. areas

For the U.S. 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. The Navajo Nation participates in the Daylight Saving Time policy, even in Arizona, due to its large size and location in three states.


A safety reminder

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. "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. More than 90 percent of homes in the United States have smoke detectors, but one-third are estimated to have dead or missing batteries.

http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b2.html

[O Town]

YAY!!!!
I welcome spring along with the time change.

[JonathanBelles]

Yay! Losing one more hour of sleep I dont have. At least this time it coincides with spring break.

[breeze]

Finally! I love Daylight Savings Time - the longer I can be outside, the better!

[Miss Mary]

Finally! I love Daylight Savings Time - the longer I can be outside, the better!

Hey Annette - we can dust off our lawn chairs and put them to good use again!!!

[breeze]

Finally! I love Daylight Savings Time - the longer I can be outside, the better!

Hey Annette - we can dust off our lawn chairs and put them to good use again!!!

Oh, yes - and, don't forget the blender!

"Mary and Annette - Ready For Action"!

[Ed Mahmoud]

Better for mowing the lawn after work, worse that some of the 12Z models during hurricane season will come after lunch time.

I like to eat and model surf.



My office is attached to a mall with a food court, our lunch is 11 am to Noon, Central Time.

[Category 5]

IMO we should just pick one and stick to it.

[JonathanBelles]

At least it is getting light out when I get out of my night class at 7, and will be bright out after the time switch (which will be strange!).

[cycloneye]

At link below,you can see plenty of information about why,historic details,anecdotes etc about the time change.

http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html

[cycloneye]

Interesting articule below about the winners and losers when the clocks move one hour ahead.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23523332/

[cycloneye]

[Jack8631]

IMO we should just pick one and stick to it.

I could not agree more.

[Brent]

IMO we should just pick one and stick to it.

I could not agree more.

Same here. It's so pointless.

[O Town]

You guys are so boring.
I like change, change is always good. Kinda shakes things up a bit.

[Jack8631]

You guys are so boring.
I like change, change is always good. Kinda shakes things up a bit.

I'm not boring, just OLD!

I don't like the change because it really messes with my internal clock. I'll feel like I'm an hour behind for a few days.

[arkess7]

Spring is in the air here!!!! I love it!!! I can feel that hour of sleep i lost though but thats ok, i hate it getting dark so early

[Category 5]

You guys are so boring.
I like change, change is always good. Kinda shakes things up a bit.

I'm not boring, just OLD!

I don't like the change because it really messes with my internal clock. I'll feel like I'm an hour behind for a few days.

And plus there's just nothing to be gained.

I mean I like the daylight going an hour later, but it doesn't change the length of the day.

[senorpepr]

I have to wait a few more weeks for DST here...

I will enjoy the extra daylight in the evening. It sucks being dark when I come home from work.

[Aslkahuna]

Here in Arizona, there's NO way we want the daylight to stay around later in the day during the Summer-the sooner it gets dark the better because then it will start to cool off.

Steve