Eastern Time Zone
| Eastern Time Zone | |
|---|---|
| Time zone | |
 Eastern Time Zone | |
| UTC offset | |
| EST | UTC−05:00 |
| EDT | UTC−04:00 |
| Current time | |
| 17:46, 17 July 2024EST[refresh] 18:46, 17 July 2024EDT[refresh] | |
| Observance ofDST | |
| DST is observed in parts of this time zone. | |
TheEastern Time Zone(ET) is atime zoneencompassing part or all of 23statesin the eastern part of theUnited States,parts of easternCanada,and the state ofQuintana RooinMexico.
Places that use:
- Eastern Standard Time(EST), when observingstandard time(autumn/winter), are five hours behindCoordinated Universal Time(UTC−05:00).
- Eastern Daylight Time(EDT), when observingdaylight saving time(spring/summer), are four hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC−04:00).
On the second Sunday in March, at 2:00 a.m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3:00 a.m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap. On the first Sunday in November, at 2:00 a.m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1:00 a.m. EST, which results in one hour being duplicated.
History[edit]
The boundaries of the Eastern Time Zone have moved westward since theInterstate Commerce Commission(ICC) took over time-zone management from railroads in 1938. The easternmost and northernmost counties inKentuckywere added to the zone in the 1940s, and in 1961 most of the state went Eastern. In 2000,Wayne County,on theTennesseeborder, switched from Central to Eastern Time.[1]Within the United States, the Eastern Time Zone is the most populous region, with nearly half of the country's population.
In March 2019, theFlorida Legislaturepassed a bill requesting authorization fromCongressfor year-round daylight saving time, which would effectively putFloridaonAtlantic Standard Timeyear-round (except for west of theApalachicola River,which would be on Eastern Standard Time year-round).[2]A similar bill was proposed for theCanadian provinceofOntariobyits legislative assemblyin late 2020, which would have a similar effect on the province if passed.[3]
Daylight saving time[edit]
For those in the United States, daylight saving time for the Eastern Time Zone was introduced by theUniform Time Actof 1966, which specified that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October.[4]The act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time beginning in 1987.[4]
Later, theEnergy Policy Act of 2005extended daylight saving time in the United States, beginning in 2007. Since then, local times change at 2:00 a.m. EST to 3:00 a.m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, and return from 2:00 a.m. EDT to 1:00 a.m. EST on the first Sunday in November.[4]
In Canada, daylight saving time begins and ends on the same days and at the same times as it does in the United States.[5][6]
Canada[edit]
InCanada,the followingprovinces and territoriesare part of the Eastern Time Zone:[7]Within Canada, as with the United States, the Eastern Time Zone is the most populous time zone.
Most of Canada observes daylight saving time synchronously with the United States, with the exception ofSaskatchewan,Yukon,[8]and several other very localized areas. None of those areas are in the Eastern Time Zone.
United States[edit]
The boundary between time zones is set forth in theCode of Federal Regulations,with the boundary between the Eastern andCentral Time Zonesbeing specifically detailed in 49 C.F.R. part 71.[9]
Washington, D.C.,and 17 states are located entirely within the Eastern Time Zone. They are:
Five states are divided between the Eastern Time Zone and theCentral Time Zone.The following locations observe Eastern Time:
- Florida:The majority of the state, includingBig Bendregions east of theApalachicola Riverand portions ofGulf Countysouth of theIntracoastal Waterway
- Indiana:The majority of the state, exceptNorthwest Indianaand theEvansville metropolitan area.
- Kentucky:The eastern portion of the state, including its three largest metropolitan areas:Louisville,Le xing ton,andNorthern Kentucky
- Michigan:The entire state except for the fourUpper Peninsulacounties that borderWisconsin:Gogebic,Iron,Dickinson,andMenominee
- Tennessee:All ofEast Tennesseeincluding the major cities ofChattanoogaandKnoxvilleand the town ofKingsport,with the exception ofBledsoe,Cumberland,andMarioncounties[10]
Additionally,Phenix City, Alabama,and several nearby communities inRussell County, Alabama,unofficially observe Eastern Time.[11]This is due to their close proximity toColumbus, Georgia,which is on Eastern Time. In addition Smiths Station in Lee County along with Valley and Lanett in Chambers county honor Eastern Time.[12]
Mexico[edit]
- Quintana Roo:This is the only Mexican state to observe EST. It moved from Central Time to Eastern Time after a successful lobbying effort by tourism interests.[13]Quintana Roo does not observe daylight saving time.
Caribbean islands[edit]
TheBahamasandHaitiofficially observe both Eastern Standard Time during the winter months and Eastern Daylight Time during the summer months. Cuba generally follows the U.S. with Eastern Standard Time in the winter, and Eastern Daylight Time in the summer, but the exact day of change varies year to year. TheCayman IslandsandJamaicause Eastern Standard Time year-round.[citation needed]
Turks and Caicos Islands[edit]
TheTurks and CaicosIslands followed Eastern Time with daylight saving until 2015, when the territory switched to theAtlantic Time Zone.The Turks and Caicos Islands switched back to the pre-2015 schedule in March 2018.[14]A 2017 consultation paper highlighted the advantage for business and tourism of being in the same time zone as theeastern United Statesas an important factor in the decision.[15]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Why Louisville?".Louisville magazine.Archived fromthe originalon July 20, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 10,2018.
- ^Klas, Mary Ellen (March 6, 2018)."Legislature approves year-round daylight saving time—but it's not a done deal yet".Miami Herald.RetrievedMarch 30,2018.
- ^Patton, Jessica (October 7, 2020)."Ontario MPP puts forward bill to make Daylight Saving Time standard time".Global News.RetrievedOctober 9,2020.
- ^abcPrerau, David (2006)."Early adoption and U.S. Law".Daylight Saving Time.Web Exhibit.RetrievedApril 23,2007.
- ^Law, Gwillim (September 21, 2007)."United States Time Zones".
- ^"Daylight Saving Time Starts Sunday".Government of Ontario. March 7, 2008.RetrievedSeptember 21,2010.
- ^"Time zones and daylight saving time".nrc.canada.ca.National Research Council Canada. March 23, 2019.RetrievedMarch 7,2020.
- ^"Yukon to end seasonal time change".yukon.ca.March 4, 2020.RetrievedMay 13,2022.
- ^The specification for the Eastern Time Zone is set forth at 49 C.F.R. § 71.4, and is listed intextArchivedJanuary 13, 2012, at theWayback MachineandPDFArchivedJanuary 14, 2012, at theWayback Machineformats. The boundary between Eastern and Central is set forth at 49 C.F.R. § 71.5, and is listed intextandPDFArchivedJanuary 13, 2012, at theWayback Machineformats.
- ^McDearman, Brian (August 13, 2006)."Parts of Eastern Alabama split between 2 time zones".Decatur Daily.AP. Archived fromthe originalon March 10, 2016.RetrievedMarch 22,2009.
- ^Emily."Our Community".Phenix City, Alabama.RetrievedJanuary 10,2022.
- ^https:// al /living/2017/02/do_you_know_which_alabama_town.html
- ^"On Mexican Time: Changing Time Zones To Accommodate Tourism".Forbes.RetrievedJanuary 29,2015.
- ^"DST Dates Confirmed".Timeanddate. July 25, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 10,2019.
- ^"Consultation paper Daylight Saving"(PDF).April 2017. pp. 6–7. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on January 10, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 10,2019.
External links[edit]
- Official U.S. time in the Eastern time zone(archived April 24, 2007)
- North American Time Zone border data and images
- World time zone mapArchivedDecember 24, 2015, at theWayback Machine
- U.S. time zone mapArchivedFebruary 15, 2009, at theWayback Machine
- History of U.S. time zones and UTC conversionArchivedAugust 8, 2011, at theWayback Machine
- Canada time zone map
- Time zones for major world cities
- Official times across Canada
- Federal Regulations defining time zones(archived May 28, 2010)