Clocks spring forward Sunday as daylight saving time returns

After 19 weeks on Pacific Standard Time (PST), this Sunday we return to Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). On Sunday, March 8, we “spring forward” one hour at 2 a.m.

The year’s first 6 p.m. sunset will occur on March 5. When daylight time begins on Sunday, March 8, sunset will jump to 7:04 p.m. The days continue to get longer, currently more than three minutes per day. By the summer solstice on June 21, sunset will be at 9:10 p.m.

Health and time changes

Do you feel more tired after shifting to daylight time? You are not alone. Sleep scientists have found that more than half of Americans usually feel tired after the change to daylight time.

Other studies following the time change have found that there is a rise in traffic crashes as well as more workplace injuries on the day after “spring forward,” compared to other Mondays. Even though the circadian rhythm gets disrupted by time changes, the impacts fade away in a matter of days, similar to jet lag when flying overseas or from one U.S. coast to another.

Efforts to avoid these time changes

British Columbia announced that the March 8, 2026, spring forward would be the province’s last clock change. A survey that drew 223,000 responses found 93% favored ending the twice-yearly time change.

The Washington legislature authorized keeping the state on daylight time in 2019, and Oregon and California have as well. However, only the U.S. Congress can authorize one or more states to permanently stay in daylight time. In 2021, Washington Senator Patty Murray led Senate efforts to pass the Sunshine Protection Act by unanimous vote, but the bill never made it to the floor of the House of Representatives.

There is another option: remaining in permanent standard time. Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, do this already, and that switch does not require U.S. congressional action. A bill that went before the legislature in 2024 would have kept the state permanently on standard time, but it failed to advance, following a similar failed attempt in 2022. Legislators leading this effort are coordinating with neighboring western U.S. states to enact this permanent standard time authorization collectively.

Pros and Cons of time changes

There is a great debate on the pros and cons of permanent standard time. For instance, human health follows the sun, and standard time shadows the natural circadian cycle. If standard time became permanent, then around the summer solstice in June, sunrise in Washington would be near 4 a.m. and sunset around 8 p.m. Proponents of permanent daylight time highlight the longer summer evening hours for more outdoor activities and decreased crime.

There are many more arguments on both sides of the standard versus daylight time debate, but what is far clearer is that a high percentage of Americans simply want to stop the twice-a-year time changes.

Time to change batteries

But because there will be a time switch for at least another year, fire agencies and the National Weather Service want to remind residents that the time change is also a good opportunity to change the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radios.

Too many fatal fire tragedies occur because smoke detectors have a dead battery. All-hazard NOAA weather radios also need to operate when the power goes out and provide reliable weather and warning information.

So this Saturday night, remember to move your clocks ahead one hour. Your cell phones and computers should make the time change themselves.

Ted Buehner is the KIRO Newsradio meteorologist. Follow him on X and Bluesky. Read more of his stories here.