When Do the Clocks Change in Washington?

Time Zones in Washington

Washington keeps one clock statewide, covering the whole state. It is 5:54 AM there right now.

What Actually Changes: Sunrise and Sunset

The hour on the clock is not the part anyone notices. This is what the change does to daylight in Seattle, comparing the day before with the day after.

The amount of daylight barely moves across those two days — roughly the same number of hours either side. What moves is where those hours sit: the clock change shifts them from the evening to the morning, or back again. Full sunrise and sunset detail for Seattle.

What Stands Out About Washington

Solar noon is at 12:55 PM, not noon

The sun reaches its highest point over Seattle at 12:55 PM, so the clock runs 56 minutes ahead of the sun. That gap has nothing to do with Daylight Saving Time and never changes: it is simply where Washington sits inside an hour-wide time zone.

A northern state feels the change hardest

Daylight in Seattle swings by 7h 33m across the year, from 15h 59m at midsummer down to 8h 26m in December. Losing an hour of evening on top of that is why the November change lands so much harder in Washington than it does in the south.

One clock, 21 minutes of real difference

Vancouver and Spokane read exactly the same time, but they are 5.2 degrees of longitude apart — about 21 minutes of real solar time. The sun sets that much later at the western end of Washington than the eastern end, every single day, and no clock change affects it.

Dark before the working day ends

After the change the sun sets in Seattle at 4:50 PM. For most of the winter that means leaving work in the dark, which is the single most common complaint about the November change and the reason states keep voting for permanent Daylight Saving Time they are not allowed to adopt.

The Next Clock Changes in Washington

The next move is backwards, which is the one people notice: an hour more sleep, and sunset arriving before most of the working day is over. US clocks change on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November. These are the next dates that rule produces for Washington, computed from the current time zone rules rather than a fixed list — if the rules change, these dates change with them.

Why Washington Keeps the Clock It Does

Washington is far enough north that Seattle's daylight swings by nearly eight hours between June and December — the largest seasonal swing of any major city in the lower 48. That is why the state passed a permanent Daylight Saving Time bill in 2019, and why it is still waiting on Congress.

The practical consequence is that every time difference involving Washington shifts by an hour on Sunday, November 1, 2026. Anything recurring across that date — a standing call, an automated report, a flight connection — is worth checking, especially against places that change on a different date or not at all.

To check an exact gap on an exact date, use the time zone converter, or the meeting planner for a whole group at once.

Crossing the State Line

These neighbouring states are on a different clock from Washington today. A state border is the most common place to lose or gain an hour without expecting to.

Current Time in Washington Cities