When the clocks change

In the UK, British Summer Time ends at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October, and clocks go back to 1:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, according to GOV.UK. EU countries switch at the same moment under a 2000 directive that sets the change at 01:00 UTC across the bloc. That is 2:00 a.m. in London, Dublin and Lisbon, and 3:00 a.m. in Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Rome.

The U.S. rule is different. Federal law ends daylight saving time on the first Sunday in November, so U.S. clocks go back on Nov. 1, 2026. Most of Canada follows the same dates as the U.S.

The one-week gap

Between Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, Europe is on winter time while North America is still on daylight time. Every transatlantic difference drops by one hour:

A 9:00 a.m. call in New York during that week is 1:00 p.m. in London, not 2:00 p.m. The normal gap returns at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, when U.S. clocks go back.

Who is affected

• Recurring meetings. Calendar apps store most invitations in the organizer’s time zone, so a weekly meeting set in New York will show up an hour earlier for colleagues in Europe that week, and the reverse.
• Flights and trains. Timetables are in local time, so nothing changes on the ticket, but connection times and arrival times relative to home can look an hour off.
• Markets. London trading hours stay the same in local time, so the overlap with New York shifts by an hour for the week.
• Families and friends abroad. If you call at a set time each week, check the difference before you dial.

Spring has a two-week gap

The same mismatch happens in spring, and it lasts longer. U.S. clocks go forward on Sunday, March 14, 2027, while the UK and EU wait until Sunday, March 28, 2027. For those two weeks London is again 4 hours ahead of New York.

Will Europe stop changing clocks?

The European Parliament voted in 2019 to end seasonal clock changes in the EU, but member governments never agreed on a final plan, Royal Museums Greenwich notes, so the twice-yearly change continues. The UK, outside the EU since 2020, keeps its own rules under the Summer Time Act.

In the U.S., the House passed a bill in July 2026 to make daylight saving time permanent, but the Senate has not voted on it. Our report on the Nov. 1 clock change covers where that bill stands.

Quick checklist

• Confirm any transatlantic meetings or calls scheduled between Oct. 26 and Oct. 30.
• If you travel between Europe and North America that week, double-check pickup and check-in times.
• Mark Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 on your calendar; the gap closes when the U.S. changes clocks.

The 2026 peak at a glance

The Orionids have a broad maximum, so the mornings of Oct. 20, 21, 22 and 23 can all produce similar rates. If clouds cover the peak night, try the morning before or after.

Why the moon matters this year

The moon reaches full on Oct. 26, so during peak week it is a bright waxing gibbous, about 74% to 80% lit depending on the night. It is up through the evening and sets a few hours before dawn. Moonlight hides the fainter meteors, which make up most of any shower.

That leaves a short, useful window. Once the moon has set, the sky is dark until morning twilight begins, and the shower’s radiant in Orion is high in the southeast to south. NASA and the American Meteor Society both point to the hours before dawn as the best time this year.

How to watch

1. Find a dark spot away from streetlights, with a wide view of the sky.
2. Check when the moon sets for your location and plan to be outside from then until dawn begins to brighten the east.
3. Lie back and look at a wide area of the sky, about halfway up. Meteors can appear anywhere; they are often easier to see 30 to 40 degrees away from the radiant.
4. Give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adjust, and avoid looking at your phone screen.
5. Dress warmly. Late October mornings are cold in much of North America.

Orionids are fast and often leave a glowing trail, called a train, that lingers for a second or two. Bright fireballs are possible.

Where they come from

Halley’s Comet sheds ice and dust each time it passes the sun. Earth crosses that stream of debris twice a year: in October, producing the Orionids, and in early May, producing the Eta Aquariids. The meteors seem to come from a point near the raised club of the constellation Orion, north of the reddish star Betelgeuse, which is how the shower got its name. Halley itself was last near the sun in 1986 and is expected back in 2061.

The Hunter’s Moon follows on Oct. 26

October’s full moon, traditionally called the Hunter’s Moon, is full at 04:12 UTC on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. In U.S. time zones that is:

The moon looks full on both the evening of Oct. 25 and Oct. 26, rising in the east around sunset.

Other sky dates this autumn

If you want the clock change and the full moon on the same page, our November 2026 printable calendar and the daylight saving time story have the dates.

What SSA announced

The 2027 cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is the largest since the 8.7% increase for 2023. It follows raises of 3.2% for 2024, 2.5% for 2025 and 2.8% for 2026.

• Nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries get the increase starting with January 2027 benefits.
• About 7.3 million SSI recipients get it starting Dec. 31, 2026.
• Some people receive both, which is why the totals overlap.

By law, the COLA follows the rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 3.6% figure compares July to September 2026 with the same months of 2025.

How much benefits go up

SSA’s fact sheet estimates these average monthly amounts for January 2027:

The maximum benefit for a worker retiring at full retirement age rises from $4,152 to $4,188 a month. The SSI federal payment standard rises from $994 to $1,029 a month for an individual and from $1,491 to $1,544 for a couple.

When the higher payments arrive

SSI is normally paid on the first of the month. Jan. 1, 2027 is New Year’s Day, a federal holiday, so the January SSI payment, including the 3.6% increase, is paid on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026.

Social Security retirement, survivor and disability benefits are paid on a Wednesday set by your birth date, under SSA’s published payment schedule:

The December 2026 payment, made in December for the month of November, still uses the old amount. The first Social Security payment at the new rate is the one paid in January for December.

Other numbers that change on Jan. 1, 2027

The COLA announcement also sets the 2027 thresholds that affect workers and people who work while receiving benefits:

The payroll tax rate itself does not change: 7.65% for employees and 15.3% for the self-employed. Under the earnings test, SSA withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 earned above the limit before full retirement age, and $1 for every $3 above the higher limit in the year you reach it.

Federal retirees get a different raise

Retirees under the Civil Service Retirement System receive the same 3.6% increase. Retirees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) get 2.6%, Federal News Network reports, because the FERS formula subtracts one percentage point when inflation is above 3%.

Medicare costs are still to come

Many retirees have Medicare Part B premiums deducted from their Social Security checks, so the final January deposit depends on that figure too. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services usually announces the new premium in November. The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report projected a standard 2027 premium of $209.50 a month, up from $202.90 in 2026, according to AARP. That is a projection, not the final number.

When you will see your exact amount

SSA says people with a personal my Social Security account can read their COLA notice online starting in late November, up to three weeks before the paper notice. To get it online, you must create an account and opt in to paperless notices by Nov. 18. Everyone else receives the notice by mail in December. The notice lists the new benefit amount and any deductions, including Medicare premiums.

Dates to put on your calendar

What is open and closed on Nov. 11, 2026

The federal closures come from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 2026 holiday table, which lists Veterans Day on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and from the Federal Reserve’s 2026 holiday schedule. Because the Federal Reserve is closed, bank transfers and direct deposits started on Nov. 11 generally settle on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Stock trading continues because the New York Stock Exchange does not close for Veterans Day. The bond market follows a different calendar: the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) recommends a full close on Veterans Day, as it does on Columbus Day.

Schools are the biggest variable. Some districts close for the day, while many stay open and hold Veterans Day assemblies. Check your district calendar before planning around it.

Why Veterans Day stays on Nov. 11

The date marks the armistice that halted fighting in World War I at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day in 1919, Congress called for an annual observance in 1926, and a 1938 law made Nov. 11 a legal federal holiday.

In 1954, after World War II and the Korean War, Congress renamed it Veterans Day to honor all American veterans. A later change did not last: under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, Veterans Day moved to the fourth Monday of October starting in 1971. Many states kept Nov. 11 anyway, and in 1975 Congress passed a law returning the federal observance to Nov. 11, beginning in 1978. It has stayed there since.

When Nov. 11 falls on a weekend

Because the holiday keeps its date, it sometimes lands on a Saturday or Sunday. OPM’s rule is that a Saturday holiday is observed on the Friday before and a Sunday holiday on the Monday after, for federal pay and leave purposes.

Ceremonies, including the national observance at Arlington National Cemetery, are traditionally held on Nov. 11 itself even in weekend years.

Veterans Day vs. Memorial Day

The two holidays are often confused. Veterans Day honors everyone who has served in the U.S. armed forces, living or dead. Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday in May, honors those who died while serving. In 2027, Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 31.

Planning tips for a midweek holiday

• Send time-sensitive mail and bank transfers by Tuesday, Nov. 10.
• If you have children in school, confirm whether your district is open; closures differ even between neighboring districts.
• Many restaurants and retailers offer discounts to veterans and service members on Nov. 11; most require a military ID or proof of service.
• Thanksgiving follows two weeks later, on Thursday, Nov. 26, so November 2026 has two federal holidays in the same month.

How the date is set

Title 5 of the U.S. Code lists the federal holidays and names “Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November.” November 2026 begins on a Sunday, so its Thursdays fall on the 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th. The fourth one is Nov. 26.

The rule means Thanksgiving can only land between Nov. 22 and Nov. 28. It falls on the 22nd when Nov. 1 is a Thursday and on the 28th when Nov. 1 is a Friday.

Why it is the fourth Thursday, not the last

For most of its history the holiday followed the “last Thursday” rule. President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation of Oct. 3, 1863, set Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, and later presidents kept that custom.

The custom broke in 1939, when November had five Thursdays. Retailers worried that a Nov. 30 holiday would shorten the Christmas shopping season, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier, to Nov. 23. States split: some followed the new date, others kept the traditional one, and critics nicknamed the earlier holiday “Franksgiving.”

Congress settled the question in 1941. According to the National Archives, the House passed a joint resolution on Oct. 6, 1941, naming the last Thursday. The Senate changed it to the fourth Thursday so the holiday would not drift into the last days of November in five-Thursday years, the House agreed, and Roosevelt signed the resolution on Dec. 26, 1941. The rule took effect in 1942 and has been used ever since.

What is open and closed

The federal schedule comes from the Office of Personnel Management and the Federal Reserve’s 2026 holiday list. The NYSE publishes the early close on its holidays and trading hours page.

The 100th Macy’s parade

The 2026 parade is the 100th, according to Macy’s. The first was held in 1924, and the count runs behind the calendar because the parade was not held from 1942 to 1944 during World War II. It starts at 8:30 a.m. and airs on NBC, Peacock and Telemundo starting at 8:30 a.m. in all time zones. In New York, the route runs from the Upper West Side to Macy’s Herald Square.

Travel: last year set a record

AAA has not released its 2026 Thanksgiving forecast; the auto club usually publishes it in mid-November. Its 2025 forecast projected a record 81.8 million people traveling at least 50 miles over the holiday period, about 73 million of them by car and 6 million by air. AAA said the worst road congestion tends to come on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons before the holiday and that Thanksgiving morning itself usually has light traffic.

If you are planning around the 2026 holiday, the comparable travel window runs from Tuesday, Nov. 24 to Monday, Nov. 30.

Canada celebrates in October

Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October. In 2026 it was Monday, Oct. 12, about six weeks before the U.S. holiday.

Plan the week

• Mark Thursday, Nov. 26 and Friday, Nov. 27 on your calendar, along with any school closures on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
• Order groceries and book travel early; the Tuesday and Wednesday before the holiday are usually the busiest.
• Mail cards or packages by Tuesday, Nov. 24 if they need to arrive before the holiday.
• If you trade stocks, remember the 1:00 p.m. ET close on Friday.

What happens at 2 a.m. on Nov. 1

Federal law sets the end of daylight saving time on the first Sunday in November, and each time zone switches at 2:00 a.m. local time. In 2026 that Sunday is Nov. 1. Clocks go from 1:59:59 a.m. back to 1:00 a.m., so the hour from 1:00 to 2:00 a.m. happens twice and the night is 25 hours long.

Phones, computers and most smart watches update on their own. Ovens, microwaves, car dashboards, wall clocks and many thermostats do not. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) keeps the official U.S. time and lists the switch rules used by every time zone.

Because each zone switches at its own 2:00 a.m., the East Coast changes first and Alaska changes four hours later.

Who does not change clocks

Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year. The Navajo Nation, which covers part of northeastern Arizona, does observe daylight saving time. Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands also stay on standard time. For people in those places, the only thing that changes on Nov. 1 is the time difference with the rest of the country.

The Sunshine Protection Act: where it stands

The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139) on July 14, 2026, by a vote of 308 to 117, according to the House Clerk’s roll call. Republicans voted 193 to 22 in favor and Democrats 114 to 95, with one independent voting yes. The measure reached the floor as part of the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, which the Energy and Commerce Committee had approved 48 to 1.

The bill would end the twice-a-year switch by keeping the country on daylight time all year. Places that already skip daylight saving time, such as Hawaii and most of Arizona, could stay on standard time.

The Senate received the bill on July 15 and sent it to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. It has not had a floor vote. In early October, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said there was no consensus among senators on moving it, TIME reported. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas has led opposition, pointing to late winter sunrises, and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi raised safety concerns about children waiting for school buses in the dark. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, a long-time sponsor, has said he wants a vote in the lame-duck session in November and December. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Congress to pass the bill.

Why the timing matters

The lame-duck session starts after the Nov. 3 election, two days after the clocks change. Even a fast Senate vote could not stop the Nov. 1 switch. The next date that could be affected is March 14, 2027, when clocks are scheduled to spring forward.

The debate in brief

Supporters of permanent daylight time point to brighter evenings and polling that shows most people dislike changing clocks. A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC), cited by TIME magazine, found 47% of adults oppose the twice-yearly change and 12% support it, with 56% preferring permanent daylight time to 42% for permanent standard time.

Sleep doctors favor the other option. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has endorsed permanent standard time, arguing that later winter sunrises under permanent daylight time would conflict with the body clock. Opponents also cite the country’s earlier attempt: year-round daylight time began in January 1974 during the energy crisis and was repealed before the year ended.

States are split as well. At least 18 states have passed laws to adopt permanent daylight time if Congress allows it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, while bills for permanent standard time, which states can adopt without Congress, were pending in several legislatures in 2026.

Dates to mark on your calendar

Under current rules, daylight saving time covers 238 days a year, about 65% of the calendar, NIST notes.

A short checklist for the weekend

• Set manual clocks back one hour before bed on Saturday, Oct. 31, or first thing Sunday.
• Check smoke and carbon monoxide alarm batteries; many fire departments use the clock change as a reminder.
• If you work an overnight shift, confirm how your employer counts the repeated 1:00 a.m. hour.
• Expect earlier sunsets: evenings get dark about an hour sooner by clock time starting Nov. 1.
• Write Nov. 1 and March 14, 2027 on your printed calendar so the next change does not catch you off guard.

What to watch next

The Senate returns for its lame-duck session after the Nov. 3 election. If the bill is not passed before the 119th Congress ends on Jan. 3, 2027, it expires and would have to be introduced again in the next Congress. Until a law changes, the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November remain the national switch dates.