When Did It End? 2026 Daylight Saving Time and Heatwave Tracker

Are when Did It End? 2026 Daylight Saving Time and Heatwave Tracker a question on your mind? Find out the full story in our feature story.

Federal law under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 sets a rigid formula for the standard time transition in the United States. Clocks revert to standard time on the first Sunday in November. For 2026, that calendar threshold falls on Sunday, November 1, 2026. At precisely 2:00 AM local time, clocks fall back to 1:00 AM, granting an extra hour of sleep and shifting evening sunlight into the early morning hours.

Federal uniformity does not mean universal adoption. Two states remain exempt from the clock adjustment under long-standing statutory waivers:

• Hawaii: Operates year-round on Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HAST) and does not observe daylight saving.
• Arizona: The majority of the state stays locked on Mountain Standard Time (MST), though the Navajo Nation in the state's northeastern corner does observe the switch to align with tribal territory across state borders.
• Overseas Territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands observe standard time year-round without clock shifts.

Statehouses repeatedly debate ending the biannual switch, but federal approval to remain permanently on daylight saving time stalled in Congress through 2026. Millions of household appliances, commercial building automation systems, and cellular networks execute the shift automatically, yet legacy manual timepieces require hands-on intervention before sleep on Saturday night, October 31.