Design Refine Be Mine

According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the Autumn Equinox, marking the changing of the Seasons from the last day of Summer to the first day of Fall, occurs on September 22, 2012 at 4:44 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (20:44 UTC).

Equinox means "equal night" in Latin, capturing the idea that daytime and nighttime are equal lengths everywhere on the planet. That is true of the Sun's presence above the horizon, though it does not account for twilight, when the Sun's rays extend from beyond the horizon to illuminate our gas-filled atmosphere.

2013 Autumn Equinox and 2013 Daylight Savings Time

Naturally, many people think that with the changing of the seasons comes the changing of their clocks at the beginning of Fall 2013. But this is not the case.

It is true however, that a helpful way to remember whether to set our clocks ahead or behind one hour during the daylight savings time is to "Fall Back" and "Spring Ahead."

The beginning of Fall 2013 does not mean the end of 2013 Daylight Savings Time. Daylight Savings Time ends after the Autumn Equinox when days become shorter and shorter heading closer to the Winter Solstice.

So if you are asking, "When does daylight savings time end?" "Do we change clocks when Fall starts?" The answer is the date Daylight Savings Time (DST) will end for Florida is on Sunday, November 3, 2013.

The rest of the United States will also turn their clocks back on November 3, 2013 with the exception of Hawaii and most of Arizona because those states do not practice Daylight Savings Time.

This means that we gain (not lose) an hour when we turn our clocks back an hour to 1:00 a.m. when our clocks reach 1:59 a.m. on Sunday.