If it feels like daylight saving time is ending early this year, you're not imagining it.
Ohioans will set their clocks back one hour on Nov. 1, 2026, the earliest date allowed under federal law. The annual time change arrives earlier in 2026 than it does in most years, bringing earlier sunrises, earlier sunsets and what feels like an extra hour of sleep.
For now, the twice-yearly time change isn't going away. Here's when daylight saving time ends, why the switch comes unusually early in 2026 and what permanent daylight saving time would mean for Ohio.
Is this weekend the time change for the end of daylight saving time?
Almost, but no. Daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at 2 a.m. ET, leaving about a week until clocks fall back to standard time.
Why the 2026 time change comes so early
Under federal regulations of the Uniform Time Act, daylight
saving time begins on the second Sunday in March every year and ends on the first Sunday in November. Because Nov. 1 falls on a Sunday in 2026, the annual clock change lands on the earliest date possible. The switch can happen any time from Nov. 1 through Nov. 7, depending on how the calendar falls.
Will daylight saving time become permanent in 2026?
Moving to permanent daylight saving time almost certainly won't happen before this year's clock change.
Neither the House nor the Senate is scheduled to be in session before the Nov. 1 time change or the Nov. 3 election. As a result, Congress appears unlikely to act on legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent before clocks fall back this year.
Federal bill HR 139 would make daylight saving time permanent in most of the United States. Clocks would stay on daylight saving time year-round instead of "falling back" each November. The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, passed the House in a bipartisan 308-117 vote on July 14, 2026. The bill is now pending before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, where Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) serves.
Permanent daylight saving time wouldn't create extra daylight. It would simply move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.
Is it called "daylight saving" or "daylight savings" time?
The correct term is daylight saving time. While "daylight savings time" is often used in everyday conversation, the official name is singular because the practice is intended to save daylight.
Ohio sunrise and sunset times after the "fall back" time change
After clocks fall back, both sunrise and sunset will occur about an hour earlier than they did the previous day.
For most Ohioans, the first day back on standard time means a sunrise around 7 a.m. and a sunset between about 5:20 p.m. and 5:40 p.m., depending on your location.
Here's what Ohioans can expect on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, according to timeanddate.com:
- Akron: Sunrise at approximately 6:57 a.m.; sunset at approximately 5:21 p.m.
- Cleveland: Sunrise at 6:58 a.m.; sunset at 5:21 p.m.
- Columbus: Sunrise at 7:01 a.m.; sunset at 5:29 p.m.
- Cincinnati: Sunrise at 7:05 a.m.; sunset at 5:37 p.m.
- Dayton: Sunrise at approximately 7:05 a.m.; sunset at approximately 5:34 p.m.
- Toledo: Sunrise at approximately 7:06 a.m.; sunset at approximately 5:28 p.m.
When do clocks spring forward again?
Unless Congress changes the law, daylight saving time will return on Sunday, March 14, 2027, when clocks move forward one hour.
The next date to fall back would be Sunday, Nov. 7, 2027.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Does the time change happen tonight? When daylight saving time ends
