Why Do We Return to Standard Time, and How Did Changing the Clocks Begin?

Most Americans set their clocks back on November 1, 2026. The change does not create daylight. It shifts how daylight aligns with the clock, and its history reaches from railroads and world wars to today’s federal rules.

The polar vortex is a normal part of the winter atmosphere, not a single storm. Its strength and position can help shape cold outbreaks, the jet stream and periods of disruptive winter weather across North America.

In late October 1991, a rare interaction among an Atlantic low, a powerful Canadian high, Hurricane Grace and the Gulf Stream created one of the most remarkable ocean storms in modern weather history.