Daylight Savings Time 2013

Switch your clocks ahead tonight — spring forward — daylight saving time will begin 2 a.m. Sunday.

You will lose an hour of sleep, but gain an extra hour of daylight in the evening.    

Don't forget to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. There are more than 366,000 home fires every year and more than 2,300 people die in them, according to CPSC’s latest Residential Fire Loss Estimates report.

Is it "daylight savings time" or "daylight saving time"?

The practice of turning the clocks one hour forward to save energy is often called “daylight savings time” however, daylight saving time (DST) is the correct term because it refers to a time for saving daylight. Another correct variation is “daylight-saving time”, which includes use of the hyphen between “daylight” and “saving”.

Who does not observe daylight saving time?

Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.

Why does daylight savings time start at 2 a.m.?

In the United States, 2 a.m. was originally chosen as the changeover time because it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running.

When did daylight savings time begin?

Ben Franklin first suggested shifting the clocks to save on candles, according to Discovery, but no one took him up on his idea at the time. Daylight savings was first implemented during the First World War.  After the 1970s energy crisis, daylight savings time expanded. 

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 lengthened daylight saving to eight months instead of six months.