Spring Forward? These Are the States Without Daylight Savings Time

Did you know that almost 70 countries observe Daylight Saving Time?

No wonder that with not everyone being in a universal time things can get confusing when traveling or knowing when to call someone at an appropriate time.

We recently had a time change. But there are certain states without daylight savings. They remained on their regular schedule. Keep reading to learn why and how.

Spring Forward? States Without Daylight Savings

One thing let’s get clear right from the beginning the phrase is “daylight saving time,” the word saving isn’t plural as most people say it. It’s interesting to learn if you travel from state to state in the United States, that not every state observes moving their clocks forward. It’s also wild to think that there are even states without daylight savings. 

What Is Daylight Saving Time?

Daylight saving time is when the clock is moved forward to alter the time. It’s done during the spring and summer seasons before the winter cold to give more daylight in the evening time than in the morning. Here in the United States, the clock is moved forward a whole hour.

The clock is moved forward on the second Sunday of March and it stays that way until the first Sunday in November. The total time is about 238 days which means that 65% of the year is spent in daylight saving time. 

Some people disagree with daylight saving time and feel it should be done away with completely. The original reason why it began isn’t the reason we still have it in some states today. You can get the facts here about doing away with daylight saving time.

History of Daylight Saving Time

Daylight saving time started in the middle of World War I in Germany when they were trying to figure out a way to save fuel that was being used to produce electric power. April 30, 1916, both Austria and Germany began saving daylight at 11:00 pm by moving the clock forward an hour.

Soon after the following countries also adopted moving their clock forward:

• Belgium
• Britain
• Denmark
• France
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Manitoba
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Nova Scotia
• Portugal
• Sweden
• Turkey
• Tasmania

The next year, 1917, Australia and Newfoundland also adopted daylight saving time. The following year on March 19, 1918, the United States adopted moving the clocks forward but it only lasted for seven months because so many people complained about the new law.

In 1919, the law was revoked by President Wilson and at the same time, he gave each state the option to follow it if they chose. The following states decided to keep observing daylight saving time:

• Massachusetts 
• Rhode Island

The cities of Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia also chose to follow daylight saving time.

Fast Forward

In 1966, the United States passed the Uniform Time Act to give a system of uniform for each time zone. The states that voted to keep the entire state on standard option had the option to do so. Six years later, in 1972 the law was revised that if a state was in two or more time zones they could exempt part of the state if they chose.

In 2007, Congress extended the law for daylight saving time to start on the second Sunday of March, at 2:00 am until the first Sunday of November at 2:00 am. The states that follow daylight saving time today follow these dates.

Arizona

Most of the state of Arizona doesn’t follow daylight saving time. The last time the state observed daylight saving time was in 1917. Then Arizona came up with a law that exempted it from observing because of how hot it is there especially in the summer months.

If they followed daylight saving time it meant that they would have an extra hour of sunlight where they would have to use their cooling devices longer and use more power. By not following daylight saving time they were able to reduce power consumption due to one less hour of bright sun.

The exception in the state are the people that live in the Navajo Indian Reservation. They move their clocks forward one hour like the rest of the United States.

There is an exception, which is the Hopi Nation that lives within the Navajo Nation. They follow the rest of the states’ no daylight saving time rule.

Within that Hopi Nation, there’s a smaller Navajo National territory that observes daylight saving time making this area of Arizona confusing to drive through. When driving a certain route from the state’s border through the Hopi and Navajo areas to the other side, you can change the clock time seven times total.

The time zone that Arizona uses all year round is Mountain Standard Time.

Hawaii

Hawaii is the only state in the United States that doesn’t use daylight saving time at all. The only years that Hawaii ever followed daylight saving time was from 1933 through 1945. The last time Hawaii observed daylight saving time was in 1945.

Because of where Hawaii is located, the difference in daylight for their winter and summer seasons is not a big difference. 

United States Territories

The United States dependencies or territories don’t follow daylight saving time. These include American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Minor Outlying Islands.

Fun History Lesson

What a fun history lesson about the states without daylight savings. Most people have no idea about the bizarre origin and why they even move their clocks around each year to observe daylight saving time.

If you’re planning a trip in the near future to a place that doesn’t follow daylight saving time check out our travel section for lots of travel tips.