USA Time Zones

United States of America

The continental United States (the 50 contiguous states) is divided into 4 time zones:

• Eastern Standard Time (EST), the time zone New York is in, which is 5 hours behind Greenwich mean Time (GMT)
• Central Standard Time (CST), the time zone Chicago is in, which is 6 hours behind Greenwich Meantime (GMT)
• Mountain Standard Time (MST), which is 7 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
• Pacific Standard Time (PST), the time zone Los Angeles is in, which is 8 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

Alaska and Hawaii have their own time zones: Alaska Standard Time (AKST) and Hawaii Standard Time (HST) respectively.

Daylight Saving Time begins for most of the United States at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of April. Time reverts to standard time at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday of October.

This will change in 2007. See daylight-saving-time.com for details.

Daylight Saving Time, for the U.S. and its territories, is NOT observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Eastern Time Zone portion of the State of Indiana, and the state of Arizona (not the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does observe). Navajo Nation participates in the Daylight Saving Time policy, due to its large size and location in three states.

Official Reference: UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 15 - COMMERCE AND TRADE, CHAPTER 6 - WEIGHTS AND MEASURES AND STANDARD TIME, SUBCHAPTER IX - STANDARD TIME

Site Map