GREAT FALLS — It's almost time - on Sunday, March 9, 2025, most Americans will "spring forward" for Daylight Saving Time. The official time for the change is 2 a.m.
Daylight Saving Time occurs every year on the second Sunday in March. It runs until the first Sunday in November, which is when Standard Time returns and clocks "fall back" one hour.
The process of manually re-setting clocks has been supplanted in many cases by electronic devices over the last several years, as most cell phones, tablets, watches, and computers automatically adjust the time.
Nearly all regions in the U.S. observe this annual change, with the exception of Hawaii, parts of Arizona and American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Some people enjoy the twice-yearly ritual of adjusting clocks, feeling that “springing forward” or “falling back” helps to usher in a more seasonal atmosphere.
Other people, however, don’t like the idea of trying to trick our bodies - and our daily routines - by adjusting the clocks.
According to TimeAndDate.com, in recent years, several states have passed legislation for permanent DST, including Montana, but it's up to Congress to determine whether the nation will ever do away with the time-tinkering practice.
The National Conference of State Legislatures explains:
In the last six years, 20 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation. Because federal law does not currently allow full-time DST, Congress would have to act before states could adopt changes.
The 20 states are Oklahoma (2024); Colorado and Kentucky (resolution) (2022); Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana (2021); Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio (resolution); South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming (2020); Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington (2019); Florida (2018; California voters also authorized such a change that year, but legislative action is pending so it is not counted).
Standard Time will return on Sunday, November 2, 2025, with clocks being set forward one hour.
CHECK SMOKE ALARMS
The American Red Cross urges people to check their smoke alarms on this date. The agency says that you should make sure your smoke alarms are working, and to replace the batteries if needed.
"We get very busy in our life, and we just kind of forget about that one thing about checking our smoke detectors, it doesn't take very long," said Sue Hawthorne, a Red Cross of Montana volunteer.
They also encourage people to practice a two-minute fire escape plan, to make sure everyone in your household is able to get out in less than two minutes in case an emergency happens.
