Daylight saving time in Michigan will begin this year at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2026, when clocks move ahead one hour.
That means Michiganians will “spring forward,” losing an hour of sleep but gaining an extra hour of evening daylight as the state shifts from standard time to daylight saving time.
Daylight saving time always begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. This year, the second Sunday is March 8, so that is when the time change happens, and clocks will stay on daylight saving time until early November when they return to standard time.
When to set your clocks for daylight saving
At 2 a.m. on March 8, you will need to set your clocks ahead one hour, from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.
For many Michiganians, the timing can feel harsh because March often still brings cold weather, gray skies and the occasional snow day, even as the days slowly grow longer. Losing an hour of sleep on top of that can make the transition feel especially abrupt, particularly for people who have early commutes or young children.
Disagreement over daylight saving
Not every part of the United States observes daylight saving time. Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on permanent standard time instead of changing clocks, and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also do not observe the twice-yearly shift.
Michigan itself has debated whether to keep changing clocks. The state House approved a bill in 2021 that could eventually end the seasonal time shifts, but any move to permanent standard time or permanent daylight saving time is still tied to action at the federal level, so for now, Michiganians continue to adjust their clocks twice a year.
Daylight saving time in the United States was standardized by Congress in 1966 with the Uniform Time Act, which set consistent start and end dates nationwide. The original idea was to save energy by making better use of natural light in the evening, though later studies have questioned how much electricity is actually saved under modern patterns of use.
The U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees the nation’s time laws, has long argued that daylight saving time provides several benefits beyond potential energy savings. The agency has said that having more daylight during active evening hours can reduce traffic crashes, improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, and help lower certain kinds of crime that tend to happen after dark.
When do we fall back in 2026?
Later this year, daylight saving time will end on the first Sunday in November at 2 a.m., when clocks “fall back” one hour to return to standard time. That shift on Nov. 1, 2026, brings earlier sunrises and earlier sunsets, which many people notice as evenings suddenly feel darker heading into late autumn.
This year’s spring equinox, marking the astronomical start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, will arrive in late March. The equinox is the point at which day and night are roughly equal in length, and after it passes, daylight continues to increase, making that extra evening sunlight from daylight saving time feel even more noticeable across Michigan.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: When is daylight saving time? Here’s when we’ll spring forward in 2026
Reporting by Kevin J. Hardy, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
