USA: Daylights Saving 2012 - Spring Ahead Date, Fall Back Date; Seasons' First Days

The use of Daylight Savings Time ^† (DST) in the USA is voluntary. Yet, any U.S. State or Territory using DST must employ the start and end dates mandated by Federal Law. The purpose of DST-also known as Summer Time-is to extend daylight by an hour in the afternoons during spring, summer, and much of the fall.

Spring Ahead on March 11, 2012.

DST begins on the second Sunday in March at 2:00 a.m. local time in the USA, which in 2012 is March 11. Turn clocks ahead by one hour, ideally at bedtime on the Saturday night before. Manually adjust any timepieces and timekeeping technological devices that do not self-adjust.

Fall Back on November 4, 2012.

The return to Standard Time (ST) begins on the first Sunday in November at 2:00 a.m. local time in the USA, which in 2012 is November 4. Turn clocks back by one hour, ideally at bedtime on the Saturday night before. Manually adjust any timepieces and timekeeping technological devices that do not self-adjust.

DST and Indiana.

Indiana has observed DST since 2006 and yet the State remains divided in telling time. At present, eighty of its ninety-two counties use Eastern Time while the other twelve use Central Time. Six of those twelve are clustered in the northwest corner of Indiana. They are Lake, Porter, La Porte, Newton, Jasper, and Starke. The other six are clustered in the southeast corner. They are Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, and Perry.

U.S. States and Territories that do not use DST.

The U.S. States that do not use DST and instead use ST year-round are Arizona-except for the Navajo Nation-and Hawaii. The U.S. territories that use ST year-round are Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

The First Days of Each Season in 2012 in the USA.

Spring begins with the Spring (Vernal) Equinox on March 20 at 1:14 a.m. EDT*.

Summer begins with the Summer Solstice on June 20 at 7:09 p.m. EDT.

Fall begins with the Fall (Autumnal) Equinox on September 22 at 10:49 a.m. EDT.

Winter begins with the Winter Solstice on December 21 at 6:12 a.m. EST**.

_{*EDT = Eastern Daylight Time; **EST = Eastern Standard Time}

Other Countries.

About seventy countries around the world use some form of DST. Travelers can acquire the correct date and time of any location by visiting 'Google's Time Zone' here or 'Time and Date's World Clock' here (recommended).

^{† The term Daylight Savings Time (Savings with an 's') is commonly used by broadcast media and the general public in countries such as the USA, Canada, and Australia even though the term 'Daylight Saving Time' is deemed as correct-because we are 'saving' daylight. Yet saving daylight is a savings and is not unlike the usage of 'savings' in the term 'bank savings account'.}

_{To learn about the rationale behind the concept of DST, click HERE.}

_{For 2011 data on re-setting clocks, click HERE.}

_{For a simple explanation of an equinox and a solstice, click HERE. The article includes the dates and times for the equinoxes and solstices in 2011 and 2012-listed in Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) for both Northern and Southern Hemispheres.}

^{_{Sources: Indiana; Daylight Savings Time; Astronomy}}