PALM BAY, Fla., Oct. 25, 2026 —
Halloween weekend comes with a bonus this year: an extra hour of sleep. Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at 2 a.m. local time, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the federal agency that keeps the nation's official time.
What actually happens
When the clock hits 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November, NIST says local time becomes 1 a.m. and that hour repeats. That makes Nov. 1 a 25-hour day. Most phones and computers will switch on their own. NIST notes that your computer's operating system handles the change, so updated devices should get it right. Stove clocks, car dashboards and older wall clocks will probably need a hand.
Sunrise and sunset move an hour earlier on the clock. NIST says the switch back to standard time moves one hour of daylight from the evening to the morning. Brighter mornings for school drop-off, earlier dark for after-dinner walks.
A little history
- DST was formally introduced in the United States in 1918.
- The current schedule, from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, came from the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and took effect in 2007.
- NIST says DST now runs 238 days, or about 65% of the year.
- Not everyone changes clocks. Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico and several U.S. territories don't observe DST.
- NIST points out that DST and time zones are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, not by NIST itself.
In Florida, state law says the official time for state business is United States standard time of the zone where an act takes place. That rule dates back to 1889. Most of Florida is in the Eastern zone, while much of the Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River runs on Central time, so families visiting Pensacola should double-check their schedules.
Use the extra hour: test your smoke alarms
The clock change is a good reminder for a home safety check. The U.S. Fire Administration says:
- Test smoke alarms every month.
- Replace 9-volt batteries at least once every year. Hardwired alarms need their backup battery changed yearly too.
- Replace the whole alarm 10 years from the manufacture date.
- Put alarms inside and outside each bedroom and on every level of the home.
The agency warns that when an alarm sounds, you may have less than 2 minutes to get everyone outside. It also says some fire departments offer reduced-price or free smoke alarms, and some will install them at no cost. Call your local department's non-emergency line to ask.
Hosting a fall-back weekend?
If you're throwing a Halloween party Saturday, the extra hour comes after midnight, so guests heading home late get a little more time. Kids who wake early Sunday may be up at what feels like dawn. A quick check of the smoke alarms before guests arrive is one more way to start the season safely.
Sources
- NIST, "Daylight Saving Time Rules": https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/daylight-saving-time-dst
- The Florida Senate, 2025 Florida Statutes, s. 1.02, "Legal time": https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/1.02
- U.S. Fire Administration, "Smoke Alarms": https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/home-fires/prepare-for-fire/smoke-alarms/
← More Seasonal stories · All Launchpad stories · Spotted an error? Request a correction.