Daylight saving time (DST) "goes" in two ways during the year:
- In the spring, clocks move forward by one hour ("spring forward"), which means losing one hour. This usually happens at 2 a.m. local standard time, and the clock instantly jumps to 3 a.m. This results in more daylight in the evening.
- In the fall, clocks move back by one hour ("fall back"), which means gaining one hour. This usually happens at 2 a.m. local daylight time, and the clock goes back to 1 a.m. This results in more daylight in the morning.
A helpful mnemonic to remember this is: "Spring forward, fall back." For example, in the U.S. and most of North America in 2025, daylight saving time will begin on Sunday, March 9, when clocks move forward by one hour, and will end on Sunday, November 2, when clocks move back by one hour. In Europe, DST starts later in March and ends in late October following the same forward/back pattern. Thus, daylight saving time goes forward in spring and back in fall each year to make better use of daylight hours.
