Halloween on Saturday, clocks fall back Sunday: What to know

This year, two fall rituals land on the same weekend. Halloween falls on a Saturday for the first time since 2020, and daylight saving time ends a few hours after the last trick-or-treaters head home.

For most Americans, that means an extra hour of sleep after a late night, brighter mornings and much earlier sunsets starting Sunday. It also puts a spotlight on a fight in Washington over whether to stop changing the clocks at all.

Here is what changes, who is affected and what safety officials suggest for the week.

When exactly do the clocks change?

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, according to timeanddate.com. At that moment, clocks go back one hour to 1 a.m. standard time, so the hour from 1 to 2 a.m. happens twice. Phones and other connected devices usually update on their own. Wall clocks, ovens and many car clocks don't.

Under federal law, daylight time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. That's 238 days this year, according to timeanddate. It will start again on Sunday, March 14, 2027.

The Eastern time zone moves from EDT (UTC−4) to EST (UTC−5). Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii-Aleutian time all shift by the same one hour wherever daylight time is observed.

Who doesn't change?

Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year, so their clocks don't move, according to timeanddate. The exception in Arizona is the Navajo Nation, which observes daylight time and will fall back with most of the country. Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa also don't change.

After Sunday, Phoenix will match Denver instead of Los Angeles.

Canada has become more of a patchwork, according to timeanddate. Yukon has been on year-round time since 2020. British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba also won't fall back this year after recent changes to their time laws. Most other provinces will change on Nov. 1, as will Cuba, the Bahamas and Bermuda.

What about Mexico and Europe?

Most of Mexico stopped changing its clocks in 2022 and won't change this weekend. The exception is the northern border region. Under Mexico's time-zone law, all of Baja California and listed border municipalities in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas follow U.S.-style daylight time, and they also fall back at 2 a.m. on Nov. 1, El Financiero reported. That keeps cities such as Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros in step with their U.S. neighbors. Mexico City stays at UTC−6, so after Sunday it will be one hour behind New York instead of two.

Britain went back to Greenwich Mean Time on Sunday, Oct. 25, according to GOV.UK, and the European Union changed the same day. That leaves a one-week gap. Until Nov. 1, New York is four hours behind London and five hours behind Paris and Madrid. After Sunday, the usual five- and six-hour gaps return.

The gap matters for anything scheduled overseas this week. Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London, for example, starts at 8 p.m. London time, according to UEFA. That's 4 p.m. ET this week; after Sunday, the same London start would be 3 p.m. ET. Our Ballon d'Or preview has the details.

How much earlier will it get dark?

The sunset jumps about an hour earlier overnight. According to U.S. Naval Observatory data, New York's sunset moves from 5:53 p.m. on Halloween to 4:52 p.m. on Sunday. Chicago goes from 5:46 to 4:45 p.m., and Los Angeles from 6:01 to 5:00 p.m. Phoenix, which doesn't change, goes from 5:37 to 5:36 p.m.

Mornings get brighter. New York's sunrise moves from 7:25 to 6:26 a.m.

The earlier evenings mean many commutes will end in the dark starting Monday, Nov. 2. Drivers should expect more pedestrians at dusk.

How can I adjust my sleep?

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends getting at least seven hours of sleep before and after the change. In the days before Sunday, it suggests moving bedtime, meals and exercise slightly later. Set clocks back on Saturday evening and go to bed at the usual time.

After the change, the group recommends keeping a consistent wake time, getting outside in early-morning light, and limiting caffeine late in the day. It says children and teens may need extra time, so keep their bedtime routines steady. Most people adjust within a few days, according to the AASM's Sleep Education site.

With Halloween the night before, that advice may be hard to follow for families with young trick-or-treaters. The extra hour helps.

When is trick-or-treating, and what's the weather?

Hours are set locally. On Trick or Treat Times, a site where visitors post their town's hours, about 83% of the nearly 2,000 towns listed had chosen Saturday, Oct. 31, as of Monday morning. The most common window was 6 to 8 p.m. Some communities moved to Thursday, Oct. 29, or Friday, Oct. 30. Check your town's official notice.

In New York, civil twilight ends at 6:22 p.m. on Saturday, so most trick-or-treating there will happen after dark.

As of Monday morning, the weather outlook was mixed and could still change. AccuWeather said much of the eastern third of the country should stay dry on Friday and Saturday, with chilly evenings, while showers and thunderstorms are expected from the Southwest across the Plains and into states including Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas and Louisiana. FOX Weather said moisture from Vance, a tropical system off Mexico's Pacific coast, could fuel heavy rain in more than 20 states over the weekend, with the greatest flooding threat in Texas.

What safety advice are officials giving?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has estimated an annual average of about 3,200 Halloween-related emergency room visits. In its most recent breakdown, 55% were linked to pumpkin carving and 25% to falls. The agency recommends leaving carving to adults and lighting pumpkins with battery lights or glow sticks instead of candles. It also suggests costumes that fit, masks that don't block vision, and reflective tape.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says child pedestrian injuries are more likely on Halloween than on any other night. It recommends that adults go with young children, that groups cross at crosswalks, and that everyone use flashlights after dark. It also advises choosing costumes labeled flame resistant and avoiding decorative contact lenses without a prescription. Its list of non-candy treats for kids with food allergies includes glow sticks and stickers.

The Food and Drug Administration advises feeding children before they head out and inspecting treats at home. It says to throw away anything that isn't commercially wrapped or shows signs of tampering, and to remove choking hazards such as gum, peanuts and hard candy for small children. At parties, the FDA recommends serving only pasteurized cider and not leaving perishable food out for more than two hours.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says nearly half of all crash deaths on Halloween night in 2024 involved alcohol. It urges drivers to slow down in neighborhoods and asks anyone who drinks to arrange a ride. With Halloween on a Saturday, more parties are likely to run late into the night when the clocks change.

How much are people spending?

The National Retail Federation expects Halloween spending to reach $13.5 billion, up from last year's record $13.1 billion. Its survey of 7,889 adults, taken Sept. 1–9, found 74% plan to celebrate. Average spending is about $115 a person.

Costumes ($4.4 billion), decorations ($4.3 billion) and candy ($4.1 billion) make up the bulk. In the survey, Spider-Man was the top children's costume, and witch was the top adult costume. A pumpkin is the most popular planned pet costume. NRF's Allison Zeller said Halloween remains a spending priority for consumers, but that shoppers are also keeping affordability in mind.

Will this be the last time the clocks change?

That isn't decided, and the two sides want different outcomes.

The Sunshine Protection Act, H.R. 139, sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., would make daylight time permanent. States that already stay on standard time could keep doing so. The House passed it 308-117 on July 14, according to Congress.gov. The Senate received it a day later and sent it to the Commerce Committee, where it had not moved as of Monday.

Trump has made the bill a frequent topic. In an Oct. 2 Truth Social post reported by USA Today, he urged Senate Republicans to move quickly on the bill. He called the twice-yearly clock change needless and costly, and said most people prefer more evening sunlight. A day later he singled out Cotton, R-Ark., and posted a phone number he said was the senator's cellphone. USA Today said it couldn't confirm the number. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has also pressed the Senate, Fox News reported.

Cotton replied on X that he dislikes changing the clocks too, USA Today reported, but argued that Congress has tried permanent daylight time before and repealed it after Americans faced very late winter sunrises. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has raised concerns about children waiting for school buses in the dark, according to Fox News. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Politico in early October that there was not yet a clear path forward or a consensus on the bill, USA Today reported. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News she expects senators to discuss and debate the issue when they return. USA Today reported that the Senate is not scheduled to return until after the Nov. 3 election.

Sleep doctors want the opposite of the House bill. The AASM and its coalition back permanent standard time, which a separate bill, the Sunshine for Our Kids Act (H.R. 9638), would set. They argue that more morning light is better for sleep and for teenagers in particular. Polls cited by USA Today show most Americans want to stop switching but are split on which time to keep.

What we know

• Clocks fall back at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1, except in Hawaii, most of Arizona, the territories and parts of Canada. Mexico's northern border towns change the same day; the rest of Mexico doesn't.
• Halloween is Saturday. Sunset that night is still on daylight time, and Sunday's is about an hour earlier.
• The House passed permanent daylight time in July. The Senate hasn't voted.

What we don't know yet

• Whether the Senate Commerce Committee or the full Senate will take up H.R. 139 when it returns, and whether the House would also consider permanent standard time.
• Exactly where rain will fall on Halloween night. Forecasters say the timing and reach of the storm system could still shift.

What happens next

• Set clocks back Saturday night. Daylight time returns Sunday, March 14, 2027, unless Congress changes the law first.
• The Senate is not scheduled to return until after Election Day, according to USA Today.

*Credits: reporting from timeanddate.com, GOV.UK, the U.S. Naval Observatory, Congress.gov, USA Today, Fox News, El Financiero, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the National Retail Federation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, AccuWeather, FOX Weather, Trick or Treat Times and UEFA. NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*

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