Where the Sun Will Set Earliest Once Daylight Saving Time Ends?
Most of the nation will take part in the annual fall rite of passage of setting the clocks back an hour this weekend. Read on for the details of when to make this change and what parts of the U.S. will experience the most drastic loss of daylight in the weeks and months ahead.
Time to Set Back Those Clocks
If it did not feel like winter was on the doorstep before, it will certainly feel like it after this weekend. Daylight is already fading, and those days are about to get even shorter as most of the country sets back their clocks one hour.
Daylight saving time officially ends this year on Sunday, November 1. Clocks will fall back from 2 am to 1 am, providing most Americans with an extra hour of sleep as they recover from Halloween festivities.
While most smartphones, computers, and other electronic devices will automatically shift back an hour at 2 am, you will need to manually reset traditional clocks and watches as well as appliances.
Most of the country participates in the changing of the clocks twice per year. The exception is Hawaii and most of Arizona, states that remain on standard time throughout the year so that the shift is not needed.
Daylight saving will return on Sunday, March 14, 2027. On this date, clocks will spring forward by one hour beginning at 2 am.
Where the Daylight Will Fade the Fastest
In general, the time change will hit the hardest in areas farther to the north. Many towns in Alaska or northern New England will see sunsets before 4:30 pm.
The trade-off of the earlier sunsets will be earlier sunrises. Commuters who used to head out to work in the dark now may have some light guiding their drive. This is also good news for people who like to get up and moving early, grabbing a workout or running errands before the workday.
However, do not get too used to this extra light. The days will continue to get shorter until the winter solstice hits on December 21. The farther north that you live, the more daylight that you will lose until the trend reverses on the winter solstice.
During the peak of the shortest days, cities such as Chicago can expect to see the sun set as early as 4:39 pm. Metro areas such as Seattle and New York City will also see the sun set before 5 pm by next week. Even normally sunny Los Angeles is headed for a sunset at 4:58 pm by next week. It is no wonder that so many northerners want to just head home after work and snuggle up on the couch.
Heading up to the far reaches of New England, the town of Eastport, Maine, will see the sun set at about 4:10 pm by November 5. Meanwhile, Juneau, Alaska, will see the light fade away before 4 pm by the end of next week, signaling the beginning of what the locals call the "big dark."
In addition to the inconvenience of the shorter days, the time change has also been shown to present other dangers. For example, a 2025 study in the Journal of Safety Research found that although the number of car crashes decreased in the five weeks after the fall time change, the volume of deadly pedestrian and bicyclist crashes increased by 13%. The researchers believe that the increase in accidents was due to crashes caused by the changing light conditions.
This semiannual tradition also marks a good time to perform household chores that should be done twice a year. These tasks include changing the batteries in smoke detectors, checking emergency kits in advance of the winter storm season, inspecting exterior lighting, replacing or cleaning the furnace filter, sealing drafts, and reversing ceiling fans so that they push warm air back into the room rather than lifting it.
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