Mark your calendars: Daylight saving time ends in a matter of weeks, meaning most Americans will set their clocks back one hour and gain an extra hour of sleep.
Although Congress had been considering making daylight saving time permanent, the annual fall clock change remains in place for now.
Here's when daylight saving time ends in 2026.
When is the 'fall back' time change in 2026?
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November. In 2026, that date falls on Nov. 1, the earliest possible date for the annual time change.
Why do we change the clocks twice a year?
We change the clocks each year so more sunlight happens "during more of the hours when people are typically active," according to a Congressional Research Service report.
Daylight saving time started in 1918, but the regulations governing it have changed
multiple times. The current schedule was introduced in 2007 and follows the Energy Policy Act of 2005, according to Time and Date.
Typically, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, according to Time and Date.
Most states observe daylight saving time, with the exception of Hawaii and most of Arizona.
Will Congress make daylight saving time permanent?
Unless Congress acts before Nov. 1, Ohioans will turn their clocks back one hour when daylight saving time ends. If lawmakers eventually make daylight saving time permanent, Ohio would get later winter sunsets, but winter sunrises would also occur nearly an hour later.
The bill has passed the U.S. House but remains pending in the Senate as of Sept. 18, 2026.
What permanent daylight saving time would mean for Ohio
Permanent daylight saving time would have little effect in summer because Ohio already observes daylight saving time from March to November.
On the date of the summer solstice, sunrises would range from 5:53 a.m. in Akron to 6:12 a.m. in Cincinnati, while sunsets would occur between 9:02 p.m. and 9:07 p.m.
The biggest change would come in winter, when both sunrise and sunset would shift one hour later. On the day of the winter solstice, sunrise would occur as late as 8:47 a.m. in Akron, 8:50 a.m. in Columbus and 8:53 a.m. in Cincinnati, while sunsets would move to 6 p.m., 6:10 p.m. and 6:18 p.m., respectively.
The change wouldn't create more daylight. It would simply shift an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.
When does fall begin in 2026?
Meteorological fall begins on September 1, while astronomical fall starts with the autumnal equinox on Sept. 22.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Is the time change this weekend? Date when daylight saving time ends
