Mainland Clocks ‘Spring Forward’ on Sunday

Hawaii residents, especially those calling friends and family on the mainland, are being reminded that Daylight Savings Time will begin this weekend.

The change, when clocks are moved ahead one hour, goes into effect on the second Sunday in March at 2 a.m. in each time zone.

In Hawaii that means that the East Coast of the US will become six hours ahead of our state. The West Coast will move to three hours ahead.

The clocks will be moved back on the first Sunday in November.

Many people remember the procedure from the phrase “spring forward, fall back.”

People across nearly all of the mainland observe the change. The only exception is most of Arizona, except for the Navajo Indian territories there.

Hawaii also does not follow DST, nor does American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

The Uniform Time Act of 1966 standardized the rules for DST as far as time and dates. However, the law also allows state legislatures to decide whether to practice it or not.

Parts of Indiana were previously not adhering to DST but that was changed in 2006.

The theory behind DST is it changes the hours during daylight to keep them more coordinated to the time people are active, essentially giving them an additional hour of daylight in the evening. It is also thought to help reduce electricity use.