Clocks Fall Back in USA and Canada on November 1

The United States and Canada will end daylight saving time (DST) on November 1, 2009, making it the earliest daylight saving end date with regard to the current DST arrangements. The clocks will shift back from 2am (02:00) to 1am (01:00) local time in most areas across the USA and Canada on this date.

Earliest End Date

The earliest daylight saving date is always November 1 with the current daylight saving arrangements in the United States and Canada. This is because governments in both countries organized for their daylight saving schedules to end on the first Sunday of November each year. The current schedule lasts for 34 weeks and ends on the first Sunday of November.

Moreover, DST in both the USA and Canada will resume on March 14, 2010, which is the latest possible starting date with regard to the current DST arrangements. Therefore, the standard time period (non-daylight saving time) will last for 19 weeks, even though it usually lasts only 18 weeks.

Safety Reminders Coincide with DST End Date

Various safety reminders are often publicly announced to coincide with the daylight saving end date in the United States and Canada. These reminders are synchronized with the DST end date to remind people to take safety precautions as they wind their clocks one hour back.

Safety reminders include changing smoke alarm batteries and carbon monoxide detectors. Many Americans and Canadians are also reminded to clean and inspect their chimneys and keep combustibles away from heat sources as they prepare for the colder winter months.

DST Arrangements in the USA and Canada

Daylight saving time in many parts of the United States lines up with section 110 of the United States’ Energy Policy Act of 2005, which states that daylight saving time would begin on the second Sunday of March and it would end on first Sunday of November. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 does not alter the rights of the states and territories that choose not to observe daylight saving time.

Time zones and daylight saving time in Canada are determined by provincial legislation and exceptions may exist in some municipalities. timeanddate.com’s Daylight Saving Time Dates for 2009 has more detailed information about the daylight saving end date for the United States and Canada, as well as other parts of the world.

Areas in the USA with No DST

States and territories in the United States that do not observe daylight saving time include:

• Hawaii.
• American Samoa.
• Guam.
• Puerto Rico.
• The Virgin Islands.
• Most of Arizona except the Navajo Nation Community.

Some parts of Indiana previously did not observe daylight saving time but the state is now united in observing the schedule despite being split into different time zones. Still, there are groups that campaign to change the time in parts of Indiana. For example, the Hoosiers for Central Time Coalition continues to pitch for the entire state to be on the Central time zone to make it safer for school children during the dark winter months.

Moreover, Dickinson city commissioner Shirley Dukart is recently pushed for a time zone change in Stark County in North Dakota. Ms Dukart planned for petitions to be circulated as early as January 2010, calling for the county to move one hour ahead from the Mountain time zone to the Central time zone.

Areas in Canada with No DST

There are a few exceptions to daylight saving time in Canada:

• Some areas of Québec, east of 63° west longitude, remain on Atlantic Standard Time (AST) all year round.
• Most of Saskatchewan uses Central Standard Time (CST) all year round.
• Southampton Island remains on Eastern Standard Time (EST) all year long.

By remaining on Central Standard Time throughout the year, most of Saskatchewan is on one uniform time all year round. It shares the time observed by Alberta during the summer (Mountain Daylight Time) and observes the same time zone as Manitoba (Central Standard Time) in the winter.

Note: Any reference to summer or winter in this article relates to summer and winter in the northern hemisphere. Also, many people use the phrase "daylight savings time" but the correct term is "daylight saving time". Daylight saving time is also known as "summer time" in some countries.

Dates of Daylight Saving Time 2000–2015

These are the dates Daylight Saving Time started and ended in most of the United States and the planned dates until 2015. There is a chance that future dates will change. Also, note that some locations do not observe DST, but those locations that do should use these common start and ending dates.