Time zone in North America
This article is about the time zone in North America. For other time zones, see
Central Time
.
The North American
Central Time Zone
(
CT
)
[1]
is a
time zone
in parts of
Canada
, the
United States
,
Mexico
,
Central America
and some
Caribbean islands
.
In parts of that zone (20 states in the US, three provinces or territories in Canada, and several border municipalities in Mexico), the Central Time Zone is affected by two time designations yearly:
Central Standard Time (CST)
is observed from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March. It is
six hours
behind
Coordinated Universal Time
(UTC) and designated internationally as UTC?6.
[2]
From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November the same areas observe
daylight saving time
(DST), creating the designation of
Central Daylight Time (CDT)
which is
five hours
behind UTC and known internationally as UTC?5.
[3]
Regions using Central Time
[
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]
Canada
[
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]
The province of
Manitoba
is the only
province or territory in Canada
that observes Central Time in all areas.
The following Canadian provinces and territories observe Central Time in the areas noted, while their other areas observe
Eastern Time
:
Also, most of the province of
Saskatchewan
is on Central Standard Time year-round, never adjusting for Daylight Saving Time. One major exception includes
Lloydminster
, a city whose borders overlap both
Alberta
and Saskatchewan. The city charter
[4]
stipulates that it shall observe
Mountain Time
and DST, putting the community on the same time as all of Alberta (UTC?7) in the winter, and in time with Saskatchewan (UTC?6) during the summer.
United States
[
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]
Ten states are contained entirely in the Central Time Zone:
Five states are split between the Central Time Zone and the
Mountain Time Zone
:
Five states are split between the Central Time Zone and the
Eastern Time Zone
:
Additionally,
Phenix City, Alabama
, and several nearby communities in
Russell County, Alabama
, unofficially observe Eastern Time. This is due to their close proximity to
Columbus, Georgia
, which is on Eastern Time.
[5]
Although legally located within the Central Time Zone,
Kenton, Oklahoma
?located to the adjacent east of the defined border of the Central and Mountain time zones (at the Oklahoma?
New Mexico
state line)?unofficially observes Mountain Time.
[6]
This is reportedly because most people who interact with the town reside in either New Mexico or
Colorado
.
[7]
[6]
Mexico
[
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]
Most of Mexico?roughly the eastern three-fourths?lies in the Central Time Zone, except for
five northwestern states
(
Baja California
,
Baja California Sur
,
Sinaloa
,
Sonora
, and most of
Nayarit
) and one southeastern state (
Quintana Roo
). It is known locally as the
Zona Centro
.
[8]
The federal entities of
Mexico
that observe Central Time:
Central America
[
edit
]
Out of the seven countries comprising
Central America
, all but one use Central Standard Time year-round:
Panama
, which recognizes Eastern Standard Time (UTC?5)
[10]
year round, is the exception.
Central Daylight Time
[
edit
]
Daylight saving time
(DST) is in effect in much of the Central time zone between mid-March and early November. The modified time is called "Central Daylight Time" (CDT) and is
UTC?05:00
.
In the United States, all time zones that observe DST were effectively changed by the
Energy Policy Act of 2005
. Beginning in 2007, DST would now begin at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March instead of the first Sunday in April, moving the time from 2 to 3 a.m. Additionally, DST would end at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November instead of the last Sunday in October, moving the time from 2 to 1 a.m.
At the time, Mexico decided not to go along with
this change
and observed their
horario de verano
from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. In December 2009, the Mexican Congress allowed ten border cities, eight of which are in states that observe Central Time, to adopt the US daylight time schedule effective in 2010. However, in October 2022, CDT was used in Mexico for the last time after DST was abolished. The US is also seeing traction in the same direction with the
Sunshine Protection Act
that proposes legislation that would permanently end the switching of times and make daylight saving time permanent.
[11]
Alphabetical list of major Central Time Zone metropolitan areas
[
edit
]
- Acapulco, Guerrero
- Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes
- Amarillo, Texas
- Antigua Guatemala
- Austin
,
Texas
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas
- Belize City, Belize
- Belmopan, Belize
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Bismarck, North Dakota
- Bloomington, Illinois
- Bowling Green, Kentucky
- Brandon, Manitoba
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Champaign, Illinois
- Chicago
,
Illinois
- Clarksville, Tennessee
- Comarca Lagunera
(
Torreon
,
Gomez Palacio
,
Lerdo
)
- Columbia, Missouri
- Cuernavaca, Morelos
- Dallas?Fort Worth, Texas
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Enid, Oklahoma
- Evansville, Indiana
- Fargo, North Dakota
- Fort Smith, Arkansas
- Fort Walton Beach, Florida
- Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Grand Rapids, Manitoba
- Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Guadalajara
,
Jalisco
- Guatemala City
,
Guatemala
- Houston
,
Texas
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Iowa City, Iowa
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Jackson, Tennessee
- Janesville, Wisconsin
- Jonesboro, Arkansas
- Joplin, Missouri
- Kansas City
,
Missouri
/
Kansas
- Killeen?Temple?Fort Hood, Texas
- Lafayette, Louisiana
- Lawrence, Kansas
- Leon, Guanajuato
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Lubbock, Texas
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Managua
, Nicaragua
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Merida, Yucatan
- Mexico City
- Midland/Odessa, Texas
- Milwaukee
,
Wisconsin
- Minneapolis?Saint Paul
,
Minnesota
- Mobile, Alabama
- Monroe, Louisiana
- Monterrey
,
Nuevo Leon
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Morelia
,
Michoacan
- Nashville, Tennessee
- New Orleans
,
Louisiana
- Normal, Illinois
- Northwest Arkansas
- Oklahoma City
,
Oklahoma
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Owensboro, Kentucky
- Paducah, Kentucky
- Panama City, Florida
- Pensacola, Florida
- Peoria, Illinois
- Puebla, Puebla
- Quad Cities
,
Iowa
/
Illinois
- Racine, Wisconsin
- Red Lake, Ontario
- Regina, Saskatchewan
- Rockford, Illinois
- Rochester, Minnesota
- Sioux City, Iowa
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- St. Louis
,
Missouri
- San Antonio
,
Texas
- San Jose, Costa Rica
- San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi
- San Pedro Sula
, Honduras
- San Salvador
, El Salvador
- Santiago de Queretaro, Queretaro
- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Shreveport?Bossier City, Louisiana
- Springfield, Illinois
- Springfield, Missouri
- Tampico
, Tamaulipas
- Tegucigalpa
, Honduras
- Thompson, Manitoba
- Toluca, Estado de Mexico
- Topeka, Kansas
- Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Wichita, Kansas
- Wichita Falls, Texas
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Zacatecas, Zacatecas
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Central Time ? CT Time Zone"
.
timeanddate.com
. Retrieved
November 22,
2023
.
- ^
"History of Time Zones and Daylight Saving Time (DST)"
. United States Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics. January 17, 2023
. Retrieved
December 28,
2023
.
- ^
"Central Time (CST/CDT) | GMT"
.
greenwichmeantime.com
. Retrieved
May 22,
2020
.
- ^
[1]
- ^
"Parts of Eastern Alabama split between 2 time zones"
. Archived from
the original
on March 10, 2016
. Retrieved
March 22,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
Young, Norma Gene.
"Cimarron County"
,
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
, Oklahoma Historical Society, Accessed June 30, 2015.
- ^
Bright, Sheilah (September 19, 2012).
"The Last of Kenton"
. This Land Press.
Archived
from the original on September 27, 2020
. Retrieved
September 9,
2020
.
- ^
"Ley de los husos horarios en los Estados Unidos Mexicanos"
(PDF)
(in Spanish). Chamber of Deputies of Mexico. November 2, 2022.
- ^
"Leyes Bibliography"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on November 2, 2022
. Retrieved
November 8,
2022
.
- ^
"Panama"
,
The World Factbook
, Central Intelligence Agency, November 14, 2023
, retrieved
November 22,
2023
- ^
S.623 - Sunshine Protection Act of 2021
US Congress
External links
[
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]