Clocks Fall Back Sunday as States Debate Dropping the Switch

Florida and most of the country will return to standard time Sunday, reversing the hour gained in March as debate continues over whether the twice-yearly switch should end.

Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, clocks set to 2 a.m. will move back to 1 a.m. For much of Florida, sunrise will shift from roughly 7:40 a.m. to about 6:40 a.m., and sunset will move from around 6:40 p.m. to 5:40 p.m. Daylight will shrink by more than a minute each day until the winter solstice on Dec. 21, which marks the shortest day and longest night of the year and opens astronomical winter across the Northern Hemisphere. The clock change itself does not alter weather conditions; Earth's tilt determines the seasons.

Florida lawmakers passed the Sunshine Protection Act in 2018, stating the state intends to adopt daylight saving time permanently once federal law permits it. Nearly two dozen states have passed measures for year-round daylight saving time, but Congress has not approved such a change, so the twice-yearly adjustment remains in effect. A Gallup poll found 72% of Americans dislike the biannual switch, though respondents divide over what should replace it: about half back permanent standard time, while roughly a quarter favor permanent daylight saving time. The dispute turns on whether people value more morning daylight or later evening light. Under permanent daylight saving time, the year's latest sunrise would fall between 8:30 and 9 a.m. in late January.

Daylight saving time is scheduled to return on March 14, 2027, when clocks advance one hour.

The change does not alter weather conditions, which are governed by Earth's tilt.