Do we change clocks this weekend? When daylight saving time ends

Joyce Orlando, USA TODAY NETWORKThu, October 29, 2026 at 12:34 PM UTC

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In a few short days, daylight saving time comes to an end and time will "fall back" once again.

The phrases "spring forward" and "fall back" refer to the seasons in which time changes occur. When daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March, clocks are set forward by one hour. When it ends, clocks are set back by one hour.

The first Sunday of November marks the end of that roughly eight-month period between spring and fall when the sun stays out longer.

Here's why we have daylight saving time to begin with.

When does daylight saving time end? When do we fall back in 2026?

Clocks will fall back on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 a.m., according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

When did daylight saving time start?

Daylight saving time began in Germany during World War I, when the country sought ways to save energy. Germany moved the clock forward to have more daylight while people were at work. Several countries, including the U.S. in 1918, followed suit for the duration of the war.

Daylight saving time was used again during World War II to conserve energy for war production and later became a national standard in the U.S. in 1966, when Congress passed the Uniform Time Act.

The only two states that don't follow DST are Arizona and Hawaii.

Why do we have daylight saving time?

According to the Farmer's Almanac, daylight saving time— not "savings" as many of us are guilty of saying— began as a way to use natural daylight more efficiently. This means more daylight in the summer evenings and more in the winter mornings.

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You may have heard that daylight saving time was created to assist farmers by extending daylight hours and therefore optimizing work hours. This is actually a common myth. The Farmer's Almanac points out that the practice even inhibits farmers who work with animals since livestock only know internal clocks based on sunrise and sunset.

Do all states observe daylight saving time?

Not every state observes daylight saving time.

Over the years, 19 states have tried to do away with daylight saving time, but there are only two states in the U.S. that don't observe the practice. Hawaii and Arizona do not observe daylight saving time.

Arizona doesn't follow daylight saving time (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) because of the desert climate. After most of the U.S. adopted the Uniform Time Act, Arizona decided against adjusting clocks to make sunset occur an hour later during the hottest months of the year, reports USA TODAY.

For Hawaii, the state is so close to the equator that there is not a lot of variance between hours of daylight during the year.

Five other U.S. territories do not participate, either:

American Samoa

Guam

Northern Mariana Islands

Puerto Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands

When is the shortest day of the year in South Carolina in 2026?

The shortest day of the year happens to be the winter solstice as well, which is Dec. 21 this year. That day will have the least amount of daylight in the year; from there, days will begin to get longer as we move through winter and into spring and summer.

Here's how much daytime is expected on the shortest day of the year, according to Time and Date:

Greenville: Sunrise around 7:33 a.m.; sunset around 5:22 p.m.

Spartanburg: Sunrise around 7:31 a.m.; sunset around 5:20 p.m.

Anderson: Sunrise around 7:33 a.m.; sunset around 5:24 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Do we change clocks this weekend? When daylight saving time ends

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