Ready to ‘spring forward’ in California? Here’s when daylight saving time begins
Get ready, California: Daylight saving time is less than a month away.
As the spring season approaches, so does the time of the year when we “spring forward” and set our clocks and watches ahead an hour.
When does daylight saving time officially begin across the state?
Here’s what you need to know:
When does daylight saving time start?
Daylight saving time starts across most of the United States on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday in November, according to Time and Date, an online world clock.
At 2 a.m. Sunday, March 9, clocks in most of the country will jump ahead by one hour, causing people to lose an hour of sleep that night.
Sunset will occur one hour later once the time shift takes place.
Californians will experience more daylight in the evening and less in the morning.
On Sunday, Nov. 2, Californians will “fall back” and move clocks back by one hour.
What time should I expect sunset?
After daylight saving time begins on March 9, sunset will be at 7:07 p.m., according to Time and Date.
The longest day of the year is on Friday, June 20, the summer solstice.
That’s when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, allowing the region to get more sunlight throughout the day.
On that day, the sun rises at 5:41 a.m. and sets at 8:33 p.m.
According to Time and Date, the summer solstice provides an extra five hours and 24 minutes of daylight compared to the darkest day of the year — the winter solstice, which will be on Sunday, Dec. 21.
The sun will rise at 7:20 a.m. and set at 4:48 p.m. that day.
When does spring begin?
The return to daylight saving time indicates the spring season is nearly here.
This year, the vernal equinox is on Thursday, March 20. The equinox marks the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
During the March equinox, the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere receive roughly the same amount of sunlight since neither hemisphere is tilted more toward or away from the sun, the almanac said.
Does everyone follow daylight saving time?
Not every state observes it.
The Uniform Time Act allows states to choose whether to participate in daylight saving time or stay in standard time all year. Currently, only Hawaii and most of Arizona observe permanent standard time.
However, California has made moves to abolish biannual clock changes.
Californians overwhelmingly voted to establish permanent, year-round standard time or permanent, year-round daylight saving in 2018.
Proposition 7, or the Legislative Power to Change Daylight Saving Time Measure, received 59% of the vote in favor of the change.
Nearly seven years later, state lawmakers have not passed any legislation to move California to permanent daylight saving or standard time. The legislation would need a two-thirds vote in the California State Assembly and California State Senate, plus the governor’s signature.
Congressional action would also be required if the state wanted to move to daylight saving time year-round.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
