- Central Time Zone (North America)
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"Central Standard Time" redirects here. For other uses, see Central Standard Time (disambiguation).This article is about the time zone with daylight change in North America. For the static time zone, see UTC−06:00.
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC (UTC−06), and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours (UTC−05). The civil standard time throughout the zones, composed of contiguous land and maritime territories in North America, is based on the mean solar time of the 90th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory.
In Canada and the United States, time observed in the zones is colloquially and generically referred to as Central Time (CT), while in Mexico, time in the zone is Tiempo del Centro. More specifically and officially, occupants of the American and Canadian zones are using Central Standard Time (CST) when observing standard time and Central Daylight Time (CDT) when their jurisdictions observe daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and autumn months. In Mexico, summer time is indicated as horario de verano ("summer schedule") or, officially, horario estacional ("seasonal schedule").
Standard clock time in the Central time zones is two hours ahead of that in the Pacific time zones, one hour ahead of that in the Mountain time zones, and one hour behind that of the Eastern time zones.
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Regions using Central Time
Canada
Main article: Time in CanadaThe province of Manitoba is the only province or territory in Canada that observes Central Time in all areas.
The following Canadian province and territory observe Central Time in the areas noted, while their other areas observe Eastern Time:
- Nunavut (territory): western areas (most of Kivalliq Region and part of Qikiqtaaluk Region)
- Ontario (province): a portion of the northwest bordering northeastern Manitoba
Also, most of the province of Saskatchewan is on Central Standard Time year round. Because Saskatchewan does not observe daylight savings time, its time is the same as Mountain Daylight Time when DST is in effect (summer and parts of spring and fall). Major exceptions include Lloydminster, a town situated on the boundary between Alberta and Saskatchewan; Lloydminster's town charter stipulates that it shall observe Mountain Time and DST, putting the town on the same time as all of Alberta, including the major cities of Calgary and Edmonton.
United States
Main article: Time in the United StatesIn the United States, the exact specification for the location of time zones and the dividing line between zones is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations at 49 CFR 71.[1]
States observing Central Time in all areas
- Alabama
- Although the entire state of Alabama is legally on Central Time, Phenix City and a number of surrounding communities unofficially observe Eastern Time, as Phenix City is part of the media market and metropolitan area of the considerably larger city of Columbus, Georgia (which is in the Eastern Time Zone).[citation needed]
- Arkansas
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Oklahoma
- Although the entire state of Oklahoma is legally on Central Time, the unincorporated community of Kenton, at the extreme western end of the Oklahoma Panhandle, unofficially observes Mountain Time (as the nearest sizeable towns are located in nearby Colorado and New Mexico, both of which are in the Mountain Time Zone).[citation needed]
- Wisconsin
States with some areas observing Mountain Time
The following areas observe Central Time, while other areas in each state observe Mountain Time:
- Kansas: Entire state except for Sherman, Wallace, Greeley and Hamilton counties, all of which border Colorado
- Nebraska: Eastern two-thirds
- North Dakota: Entire state except for southwestern quadrant
- South Dakota: Eastern half
- Texas: Entire state in Central Time Zone except for Hudspeth and El Paso counties
States with some areas observing Eastern Time
The following areas observe Central Time, while other areas in each state observe Eastern Time:
- Florida: Panhandle west of Apalachicola River
- Indiana: Southwestern and northwestern corners (see Time in Indiana)
- Kentucky: Western half
- Michigan: Far western Upper Peninsula
- Tennessee: Western two-thirds
Mexico
Main article: Time in MexicoMost of Mexico belongs to the Central Time Zone, with the six northwestern-most states being the exception: Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Nayarit, Sinaloa, and Sonora follow UTC−7, while Baja California follows UTC−8.
The states of Mexico that observe Central Time in their entirety:
Mexico City, which is not a state but instead forms a separate federal district (Distrito Federal), also observes Central Time.
The states of Mexico that observe Central Time only in part with another time zone (other time zone).
- Nayarit just the Bahia de Banderas municipality uses the Central time zone.
Central Daylight Time
Daylight saving time (DST) is in effect in much of Central time zones between mid-March and early November. The modified time is called Central Daylight Time (CDT) and is UTC−5. Saskatchewan, Sonora and Galápagos do not observe the change, remaining on Standard Time year round. One reason that Saskatchewan does not take part in the time change is that, geographically, the entire province is closer to the Mountain Time Zone's meridian. The province elected to move onto "permanent" daylight saving by being part of the Central Time Zone. The only exception is the region immediately surrounding the Saskatchewan side of the biprovincial city of Lloydminster, which has chosen to use Mountain Time with DST, synchronizing its clocks with those of Alberta.
In those areas of the Canadian and American time zones which observe DST, starting in 2007, the local time changes at 02:00 local standard time to 03:00 local daylight time on the second Sunday in March and returns at 02:00 local daylight time to 01:00 local standard time on the first Sunday in November. Mexico decided not to go along with this change and observes their horario de verano from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.
Alphabetical list of cities and metropolitan areas
- Acapulco, Guerrero
- Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes
- Amarillo, Texas
- Antigua, Guatemala
- Austin, Texas
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Bismarck, North Dakota
- Chicago, Illinois
- Cuernavaca, Morelos
- Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
- De Funiak Springs, Florida
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Destin, Florida
- Evansville, Indiana
- Fargo-Moorhead, North Dakota/Minnesota
- Fort Walton Beach, Florida
- Gary, Indiana/Northwest Indiana
- Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Guadalajara, Jalisco
- Guatemala City, Guatemala
- Houma-Bayou-Cane-Thibodaux, Louisiana
- Houston, Texas
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas
- Lafayette, Louisiana
- León, Guanajuato
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Lubbock, Texas
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Mérida, Yucatán
- Mexico City
- Midland/Odessa, Texas
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
- Mobile, Alabama
- Monterrey, Nuevo León
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- Nashville, Tennessee
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Panama City, Florida
- Pensacola, Florida
- Puebla, Puebla
- Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois
- Regina, Saskatchewan
- Reynosa, Tamaulipas
- St. Louis, Missouri
- San Antonio, Texas
- San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí
- Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro
- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Springfield, Missouri
- Tampico, Tamaulipas
- Toad Suck, Arkansas
- Toluca, México
- Torreón, Coahuila
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Wichita, Kansas
- Wichita Falls, Texas
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
Hours from GMT Standard time Daylight saving –10 Hawaii-Aleutian –9 Alaska Hawaii-Aleutian –8 Pacific Alaska –7 Mountain Pacific –6 Central Mountain –5 Eastern Central –4 Atlantic Eastern –3:30 Newfoundland –3 Saint Pierre and Miquelon Atlantic –2:30 Newfoundland –2 Saint Pierre and Miquelon See also: Time in Canada • Time in Mexico • Time in the United States See also
- Effects of time on North American broadcasting
References
External links
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