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On Sunday the clocks go back one hour

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We're just days away from getting an extra hour of sleep! Fall is just around the corner, pumpkin spice lattes are back, and temperatures are starting to cool down…eventually.

As the days grow shorter – and colder – and the sun rises later and sets earlier, many look forward to another sign of the season: when the clocks go back an hour. Here's what you should know about Daylight Saving Time in 2024:

People also read: When does Texas get its first frost? Here's what the Farmers' Almanac predicts

When does the time change? When is Daylight Saving Time 2024?

Daylight saving time will end in 2024 Sunday, November 3rd, 2 a.m. This returns us to standard time and Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends.

When the clocks reach 2 a.m. local time, they move back one hour to 1 a.m. Many devices such as phones and computers automatically switch to standard time, but so do non-smart devices such as microwaves and some car radios. Any clock with hands will likely need to be changed manually.

When does summer time start?

In 2024 we have jumped an hour further Sunday March 10th. Next year we will do it again Sunday March 9, 2025 and fall back an hour November 2, 2025.

Since 2007, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, as established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Before that, a 1986 law set the time change on the first Sunday in April, the last Sunday in October, according to the Department of Astronomical Applications. Between 1976 and 1986 the clocks were set forward on the last Sunday in April. In 1974 and 1975, daylight saving time began in January and February, respectively.

The United States first officially recognized daylight saving time in 1918 when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Standard Time Act.

What does summer time mean?

The end of daylight saving time means that there is more light in the morning and it gets dark earlier in the evening. Sunrise and sunset will be approximately one hour earlier on Sunday, November 3rd than on Saturday, November 2nd.

For most Americans, except those in Arizona, Hawaii and a few other places, the end of daylight saving time on November 5 means an extra hour of sleep. It also helps the country prepare for more daylight in the morning and prepare for winter.

How did summer time begin?

Daylight saving time (DST) also has many other names: “Daylight.” savings Time, time of day, daylight saving time (not to be confused with Summer). This is the practice of setting clocks forward one hour during the warmer months of the year and then setting them back one hour in the fall.

One way to remember the pattern: “Spring forward, fall back.”

The idea dates back to World War I, although some credit Daylight Saving Time to Benjamin Franklin because he wrote a satirical letter in 1784 that said, “Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, all the bells in every church shall ring.” : and If that is not enough, cannons should be fired in every street to effectively wake up the idlers.”

To maximize resources for war, Germany and Austria introduced the first daylight saving time in 1916. The United States did the same in 1918. An outdated idea, some say.

The general idea of ​​daylight saving time, according to the Almanac, is to maximize the use of natural daylight. This always happens in the summer months. Because the Earth moves around the sun and is tilted on its axis, days are longer in certain parts of the world in certain months. For people in the Northern Hemisphere, such as the United States, these longer days last from March to November, with June to August being the longest days.

In the southern hemisphere, for example in Australia, the seasons are reversed: June to August mark the winter months and are therefore the shortest of the year.

When is the shortest day of 2024?

The shortest day of the year is the first day of winter or the winter solstice. This will take place in 2024 Saturday December 21st.

As winter sets in, sunrise becomes later and sunset earlier, and there are fewer overall daylight hours – the Earth's tilt means the Northern Hemisphere points away from the Sun.

More about the winter forecast: NOAA's 2024-2025 Winter Forecast Maps: What Does La Niña Mean for Texas?

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