Get ready to change your clocks. What to know about daylight saving time in NC
It’s almost time to change your clocks again, as North Carolina and most of the country “spring forward” and enter daylight saving time.
Daylight saving time for 2023 will officially start on March 12. During this change, clocks are set one hour later, resulting in one less hour of sleep — but more time with daylight later in the afternoons and evenings than in winter.
Curious about the history of daylight saving time in the U.S.? Wondering if there’s any push — like there has been nationally — to make changes to daylight saving in North Carolina?
We’ve compiled information to answer those questions and more.
Here’s what to know about daylight saving time in North Carolina and more generally.
When is daylight saving time in 2023?
Daylight saving time, often referred to as “daylight savings,” will start on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at 2 a.m.
The change happens on the same day each year — the second Sunday in March.
What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time is when clocks are set one hour later, or one hour forward, than “standard time.”
When the time changes, it always happens at 2 a.m. local time in each time zone. That means under daylight saving time, 2 a.m. local time becomes 3 a.m. This is often referred to as “losing an hour of sleep,” as the time you’d normally set your alarm — say 6 a.m. — arrives an hour earlier.
When daylight saving time ends, we re-enter standard time, setting our clocks back one hour.
Why does daylight saving time exist?
Much of the reasoning behind daylight saving time is related to transportation and labor.
The time change was originally introduced by Germany during World War I in 1918 “to conserve fuel and power by extending daylight hours,” the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics says. The United States “soon followed suit,” putting the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in charge of overseeing the time change “to assist in the war effort.”
After the war, daylight saving time was eliminated at the national level, but some states chose to continue observing the change. This led to “confusion and collisions” on railroads, as “local times once again became a transportation issue.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation was established in 1966, tasked with ensuring transportation safety — and overseeing time zones and daylight saving time.
Daylight saving time was implemented nationwide that year “with dates for the twice-yearly transitions set by law.” Those dates continue to be observed today, unless states opt out by their own laws.
Does North Carolina observe daylight saving time?
Yes, North Carolina observes daylight saving time — as do all other states, except Hawaii, Arizona and several U.S. territories.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), two bills were introduced in the 2021 state legislative session that would have established daylight saving time as the official time year-round in North Carolina, “subject to congressional authorization.” The bills failed, NCSL says.
Federal legislation has also been introduced in recent years to make daylight saving time permanent and year-round — most notably with the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 — but no law has been passed.
When does daylight saving time end in 2023?
Daylight saving time ends on the same day each year — the first Sunday in November. This marks the start of standard time.
Daylight saving time for 2023 will end on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 2 a.m.
At that time, clocks will “fall back” one hour, and darkness will start earlier in the evening as we enter fall and winter.
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 12:57 PM.
