Did The Clocks Change Today as Daylight Saving Time Began Sunday
6: 00 a. m. ET Sunday, March 8 — did the clocks change today when daylight saving time began at 2 a. m. local time, pushing clocks forward and causing most Americans to lose an hour of sleep. The National Weather Service recorded notable shifts in sunrise and sunset times in cities such as Boston after the change.
Did The Clocks Change Today — The U. S. 2 a. m. Jump Forward
At 2 a. m. local time on Sunday the clock advanced one hour to 3 a. m., creating a 23-hour day in most of the country and immediately moving an hour of daylight from morning to evening. Most Americans experienced the loss of an hour of sleep as a direct result of that 2 a. m. switch.
Practical effects were swift: the National Weather Service listed Boston’s sunrise shifting from 6: 09 a. m. on Saturday to 7: 08 a. m. on Sunday, and sunset moving from 5: 41 p. m. to 6: 42 p. m., reflecting how daylight moved into evening hours.
Why the Shift Happened Now: March 8 Start and the 2007 Rule
The shift occurred Sunday because, since 2007, the start date for daylight saving time has been the second Sunday of March; this year that date fell on March 8 and triggered the annual spring-forward change at 2 a. m. local time. The U. S. Naval Observatory is noted as the official source of time for the Defense Department and identifies that scheduling rule.
Daylight saving time for 2026 started on Sunday, March 8, at 2 a. m. local time and will remain in effect for 238 days, a figure provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Many people will ask did the clocks change today when their devices updated overnight and local schedules shifted.
Daylight saving time has earlier precedents: it was first adopted in the U. S. in 1918, and the federal schedule for start dates has changed several times, including a move to the second Sunday of March in 2007.
Who Doesn’t Change Clocks and the State-Level Divide
Not all U. S. states and territories observe the shift. Hawaii and Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona) do not change their clocks, and several territories — American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands — also remain on standard time year round.
At least 19 states have passed laws that would let them stay in daylight saving time if the federal government permits that change, reflecting a sharp divide over whether to make daylight saving time permanent or to remain on standard time year round.
For now, daylight saving time will continue through the summer and into the fall. The next confirmed nationwide clock milestone is the return to standard time: most Americans will set clocks back at 2: 00 a. m. ET on Nov. 1. If Congress or federal regulators change the national rule, that schedule could be altered by formal action.
