Time Zones
A time zone is one among the 24 spherical lunes, which is a section on the globe in a north/south direction having equal width, each assigned with one of the 24 hours.
Every section observes a uniform standard time to keep track of the day and night cycle. It means that in each geographic region within a time zone, people use the same time.
All these zones are defined by the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) by a number of hours centered on the prime meridian.
The U.S. Time Zones
The below map depicts the six time zones of the United States and the actual time in the different time zones.
It is given from West to East:
- Hawaii-Aleutian Time (HAT)
Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time – HAST (UTC-10)
Hawaii-Aleutian Daylight Time – HADT (UTC-9)
- Alaska Time (AST)
Alaska Standard Time – AKST (UTC-9)
Alaska Daylight Time – AKDT (UTC-8)
- Pacific Time (PT)
Pacific Standard Time – PST (UTC-8)
Pacific Daylight Time – PDT (UTC-7)
- Mountain Time (MT)
Mountain Standard Time – MST (UTC-7)
Mountain Daylight Time – MDT (UTC-6)
- Central Time (CT)
Central Standard Time – CST (UTC-6)
Central Daylight Time – CDT (UTC-5)
- Eastern Time (ET)
Eastern Standard Time – EST (UTC-5)
Eastern Daylight Time – EDT (UTC-4)
Time Zone | Abbreviation | States | GMT = 12.00 pm |
Eastern Standard Time | EST | Connecticut, Delaware Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia | 7:00 AM |
Central Standard Time | CST | Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan (Upper Peninsula), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wisconsin | 6:00 AM |
Mountain Standard Time | MST | Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming | 5:00 AM |
Pacific Standard Time | PST | California, Nevada, Washington | 4:00 AM |
Alaska Standard Time | AKST | Main part of Alaska (Anchorage, Juneau, Nome) | 3:00 AM |
Yukon Standard Time | YST |
Alaska-Hawaii Standard Time | AHST | Aleutian islands (west of Alaska), Hawaii | 2:00 AM |
While the below states lie in two time zones:
Time Zone | States |
Eastern Standard Time and Central Standard Time | Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee |
Central Standard Time and Mountain Standard Time | Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas |
Mountain Standard Time and Pacific Standard Time | Idaho, Oregon |
The U.S. Weather Divisions
In the U.S., there are 344 climate divisions that are based on the CONUS (Continental US). For every climatic division, monthly station temperature and precipitation values are computed from the daily observations.
The divisional values are weighted by area to compute state-wide values, and the state-wide values are weighted by area to compute regional values.
The U.S. is typically grouped into five regions: The Northeast, the Southwest, the West, the Southeast, and the Midwest. USA climate varies dramatically by region.
The area could be split even further into three types of climate: coastal Mediterranean climates, Desert climates, and Mountainous alpine climates. In all three of these areas, summers are hot and dry.
There Are 4 Major Climate Zones:
- Tropical zone from 0°–23.5° (between the tropics)
- Subtropics from 23.5°–40°
- Temperate zone from 40°–60°
- Cold zone from 60°–90°
The Six Major Climate Regions Are Polar, Temperate, Arid, Tropical, Mediterranean and Tundra.
- Polar Chill. Polar climates are very cold and dry throughout the year. …
- Temperate Regions
- Arid Zones
- Damp Tropical Regions
- The Mild Mediterranean
- The Cold Tundra
Some people prefer tohaveallfour seasons– fall, winter, spring and summer – and all of the weather that comes with each.
List of States in the U.S. With the Best Weather Conditions:
- California
- Hawaii
- Texas
- Arizona
- Florida
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- Delaware
- North Carolina
- Louisiana
What is a time zone?A time zone is an area wherein a common standard time is applicable, for economic, legal, and social reasons. |
How many time zones are there in the US?There are six time zones in the US main country. The 50 US states are spread across the six standard time zones. With dependencies (inhabited and uninhabited), however, the total count comes to 11 time zones. |
What are the six time zones in the US states?The six time zones within the 50 US states are – Alaska time, Central time, Eastern time, Hawaii-Aleutian time, Mountain time, and Pacific time. |
Which US states have more than one time zone?15 US states have more than one time zone. These are – Florida, Oregon, Kentucky, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, North Dakota, Michigan, Alaska, South Dakota, Nevada, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, and Indiana. |
FAQs
United States and regional time zones
| Time zone | Standard | DST |
|---|
| Eastern | UTC−05:00 | UTC−04:00 |
| Central | UTC−06:00 | UTC−05:00 |
| Mountain | UTC−07:00 | UTC−06:00 |
| Pacific | UTC−08:00 | UTC−07:00 |
7 more rowsWhat are the six time zones in the US states? The six time zones within the 50 US states are – Alaska time, Central time, Eastern time, Hawaii-Aleutian time, Mountain time, and Pacific time.
What are the 4 time zones in USA current time? ›
Generalized Time Zones in United States
| Time Zone Abbreviation & Name | Current Time |
|---|
| PT | Pacific Time | Wed, 6:23:57 am |
| MT | Mountain Time | Wed, 7:23:57 am |
| CT | Central Time | Wed, 8:23:57 am |
| ET | Eastern Time | Wed, 9:23:57 am |
There are actually six time zones in the USA. The four main ones are Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific Standard Time. The two others are Alaska Standard Time and Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, observed only by Alaska and Hawaii respectively.
What divided the US into 4 time zones? ›
On November 18, 1883, the railroads moved forward with the adoption of four U.S. time zones, an idea that had been proposed 11 years earlier by Charles Dowd, a Yale-educated school principal. The time zones, Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific, are still in place today.
What are time zones divided by? ›
They are based on longitude and defined by Earth's rotation, which completes a full circle (360 degrees) each day (24 hours). Each hour then, Earth rotates through 360/24 = 15° of longitude: the width of one time zone.
Which time zone touches the most US states? ›
Which of the US time zones is the largest in area? Central Time Zone, the largest one by area, encompasses 20 states, but only 10 of them are located entirely within zone's boundaries, all remaining states have some exceptions.
What states are in different time zones? ›
Thirteen. Oregon and Idaho are split between the Mountain and Pacific time zones. Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, North and South Dakota are divided between Central and Mountain time zones. Florida, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee are split between Eastern and Central time zones.
What cities in the US are split between time zones? ›
Rapid City, South Dakota's second largest city, is in the western part of the state and in the Mountain Time Zone. The Central and Eastern time zones slice Tennessee into western and eastern halves. Country music hub Nashville and Memphis are in the Central Time Zone, and Chattanooga is in the Eastern Time Zone.
What will be time in the USA now? ›
| Time in States and Federal Districts in USA (51 States and Federal Districts Listed Below, 13 States and Federal Districts Have Multiple Time Zones) |
|---|
| New Jersey * | Sun 5:00 pm |
| New Mexico * | Sun 3:00 pm |
| New York * | Sun 5:00 pm |
| North Carolina * | Sun 5:00 pm |
60 more rowsThe USA covers a very large geographical area. If it had a single timezone, some areas would be in daylight all night, others dark during daytime hours. The 48 state continental USA, without Alaska and Hawaii and island territories, has 4 timezones.
What is the last time zone? ›
The most advanced time zone in the world is UTC+14:00, in the Line Islands of Kiribati. Hawaii is UTC-10:00, so whatever time it is in Hawaii, it's the same time in Eastern Kiribati, but on the following day.
What is the longest time zone in the United States? ›
The maximum time difference between U.S. states is six hours. That is the difference between Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT; UTC-4) and Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HAST; UTC-10). 17 U.S. states are at least partially on EDT from March to November. Hawaii is always on HAST.
Which country has the same time with the USA? ›
It shares the same time zone as Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador).
How are time zones defined? ›
time zone, a zone on the terrestrial globe that is approximately 15° longitude wide and extends from pole to pole and within which a uniform clock time is used. Time zones are the functional basis of standard time and were introduced in the late 19th century as railways connected places that had differing local times.
What are the 7 main time zones? ›
UNITED STATES TIME ZONES
The United States uses nine time zones. From east to west they are Atlantic Time Zone, Eastern Time Zone, Central Time Zone, Mountain Time Zone, Pacific Time Zone, Alaska Time Zone, Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone, Samoa Time Zone and Chamorro Time Zone.
What are the different time zone format? ›
If a time is in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), a "Z" is added directly after the time without a separating space. "Z" is the zone designator for the zero UTC offset. "09:30 UTC" is therefore represented as "09:30Z" or "0930Z". Likewise, "14:45:15 UTC" is written as "14:45:15Z" or "144515Z".
What does GMT mean for time zone? ›
GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time, the local clock time at Greenwich. From 1884 until 1972, GMT was the international standard of civil time.
How are the time zone lines in the United States determined? ›
Time zone boundaries in the US are determined by the individual states based on political considerations or natural characteristics of the land.
