A history of daylight saving time

On Sunday, March 10, most U.S. and European residents will once again move their clocks forward one hour. Daylight saving time is the cycle that starts in the second week of March and ends in the first week of November.

Daylight saving time has always been controversial and distressing to many. When we get close to the standard and daylight saving time, I see many comments on social media and other sources from those who will express their dissatisfaction with the new time change. Many are still divided on this issue, but many surveys suggest that more than 50% want to be rid of the twice-a-year time change.

In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill to make daylight saving time permanent beginning in November of 2023. It was called the Sunshine Protection Act and would end the twice-annual ritual of resetting our clocks every March and November. The bill was approved in the Senate but did not move forward in the House of Representatives. Therefore, on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, we will be setting our clocks back one hour to return to standard time and this twice-a-year clock movement will continue until further notice.

Since 2015, there have been more than 30 states that have proposed or advanced legislation to make daylight saving time a year-round option, but very little progress has been made. However, in 2019, legislators in Washington managed to pass a bill to stay on daylight saving time and the governor did sign the bill. But, to move to permanent DST in Washington requires congressional approval, which has not occurred. In the U.S., only two states do not participate in daylight saving time, Arizona and Hawaii.

Many argue that more daylight hours conserve energy and benefit sports, retailing and other activities. Some believe that the transition from moving the clocks twice a year has been linked to a higher risk of a heart attack, sleep disruption patterns, more car accidents and other unwanted events. Others argue that it also causes problems for farming and other occupations relating to the sun.

There are several stories on how our country adopted this time change. A few will say that Benjamin Franklin got the ball rolling with daylight saving time in 1784 by suggesting in a letter that the citizens of Paris change their sleep schedules by rising with the sun to save money on candles and lamp oil. Another original proposal was from an entomologist (someone who performs the scientific study of insects), George Vernon Hudson. He suggested this concept to the Royal Society of New Zealand, but he proposed two hours instead of one.

Standard time and time zones in the U.S. and Canada were instituted by the railroads in November of 1883 to standardize their schedules. Daylight saving time began during World War I, in 1918, primarily to conserve fuel. However, the law was so unpopular that it was repealed and only became a local option for a few states. During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted a “War Time,” from February 1942 to September 1945, which was a year‑round daylight saving time. From 1945 to 1966, there were no federal laws associated with daylight saving time, so states and local governments were free to choose whether to participate in this practice of changing their clocks in the spring.

Due to the inconsistencies of U.S. time, Congress decided to end the confusion of daylight saving time in 1966 by establishing a uniform system. In 1986, legislation was enacted to move the clocks forward on the first Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday in October. In 2005, the Energy Policy Act extended daylight saving time from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday in November.

During the 1970s, a permanent daylight saving time was attempted during the energy crisis to conserve fuel. It was signed into law in January of 1974, which was a popular decision at the time. In the weeks following the change, eight schoolchildren were hit by cars in the dark and Florida’s governor wanted the law to be repealed. Later that year, public approval for permanent daylight saving time dropped significantly to the point where Congress voted to switch back to standard time.

In terms of our local weather, over the last week, Coeur d’Alene has received about 6 inches of new snow. This takes our seasonal total close to 40 inches. This is well below the normal of about 63 inches, and even farther behind last year’s total to date of 69.5 inches.

The long-range computer forecast models are still indicating the possibility of more snow in the lower elevations over the next several weeks. Then, conditions should turn warmer with another chance of measurable snow in late March and early April. The rest of the spring season may have near to below-normal precipitation, but it’s also expected to be warmer than average as well. The upcoming summer is forecast to be another dry one, especially early in the season.

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Contact Randy Mann at randy@longrangeweather.com.