Spring Forward 2026: DST Schedule Guide for Global Teams

I've watched teams across four continents scramble every March when daylight saving time kicks in. Last year, our weekly sync between London and New York got completely derailed — half the team showed up an hour early for three weeks straight because nobody caught the staggered transition dates.

Here's the thing people miss: the US and Europe don't spring forward on the same day. In 2026, there's a full three-week gap between when American clocks jump ahead (March 9) and when European clocks follow suit (March 29). If you're coordinating meetings across the Atlantic, those twenty days can feel like scheduling purgatory.

When Clocks Actually Change

US: March 9, 2026 at 2:00 AM

American clocks jump forward at 2:00 AM local time on Sunday, March 9. You'll lose an hour of sleep (sorry). EST becomes EDT, PST becomes PDT, and your UTC offset shifts by an hour.

What changes:

• Eastern: UTC-5 → UTC-4
• Central: UTC-6 → UTC-5
• Mountain: UTC-7 → UTC-6
• Pacific: UTC-8 → UTC-7

Europe: March 29, 2026 at 1:00 AM UTC

Three weeks later, European countries synchronize their clock changes at 1:00 AM UTC. The UK shifts from GMT to BST, Central Europe goes from CET to CEST. Unlike the US where each timezone rolls forward independently, Europe does it all at once based on UTC.

The Cursed Three Weeks: March 9-29

During these twenty days, the time gap between US and Europe shrinks by an hour. I call it the "scheduling twilight zone" because your standing meetings suddenly happen at different local times.

Real example: your 3:00 PM London call has been at 10:00 AM New York all winter. After March 9, it's suddenly 11:00 AM New York. Then after March 29, it snaps back to 10:00 AM. Chaos.

| Period | NYC ↔ London | SF ↔ Berlin |

|--------|--------------|-------------|

| Before March 9 | 5 hours | 9 hours |

| March 9-28 | 4 hours | 8 hours |

| After March 29 | 5 hours | 9 hours |

According to timeanddate.com, this transition gap has caused measurable increases in missed meetings and scheduling errors since the US extended DST in 2007.

How to Not Screw This Up

Block Out Both Dates

Put March 9 and March 29 in your calendar right now. Add reminders. Set up alerts. Review every recurring international meeting that touches those three weeks.

Switch to UTC During Chaos

I'm serious — if you have critical meetings during the March 9-29 window, just schedule them in UTC. "15:00 UTC" doesn't shift around based on what some politician decided about daylight saving time. Check out our GMT vs UTC guide if you're not sure about the difference.

Actually Update Your Recurring Invites

Calendar apps *usually* handle DST transitions automatically. But I've seen them fail. After each transition date, manually check that your meetings are still at reasonable local times for everyone.

Warn Your Team

Send a message a few days before March 9 and again before March 29. People forget. Hell, I forget, and I write about this stuff. See our time zone etiquette guide for more communication tips.

Use Tools That Handle This Automatically

The Whenest Meeting Planner accounts for DST transitions when you're scheduling. Pick any date — even one in the cursed three-week window — and it shows you the correct local times. The Overlap Finder also adjusts for shifting working hours during transitions.

Places That Ignore This Madness

Some regions decided DST wasn't worth the hassle and just... stopped doing it. Smart.

Places that don't change clocks:

• Arizona (except the Navajo Nation, which does)
• Hawaii
• Most of Asia — China, Japan, India, Singapore, South Korea
• Most of Africa
• Iceland
• Russia (they quit in 2011)

When you schedule with teams in these places, remember: only *your* timezone shifts. If you're meeting with Tokyo colleagues, the time difference between you changes by an hour twice a year, but their clock stays put. More in our JST Japan Standard Time guide.

Why This Gap Even Exists

The US and Europe used to change clocks around the same time. Then in 2005, the US passed the Energy Policy Act, extending DST by three weeks in spring and one week in fall. The stated goal was energy conservation, though studies from the National Bureau of Economic Research found minimal energy savings.

What it *did* accomplish: making life harder for anyone coordinating across the Atlantic. Thanks, Congress.

Historical Note: DST Might Eventually Die

The EU voted in 2019 to abolish DST, but implementation got stuck in bureaucratic limbo. In the US, the Sunshine Protection Act keeps getting proposed to make DST permanent. As of 2026, neither has happened.

Until someone actually pulls the trigger on ending this, we're stuck with twice-yearly clock gymnastics. Stay updated with our 2026 Daylight Saving Time Dates Worldwide guide.

Quick Reference

| Region | Date | Time |

|--------|------|------|

| United States | March 9, 2026 | 2:00 AM local |

| European Union | March 29, 2026 | 1:00 AM UTC |

| UK/Ireland | March 29, 2026 | 1:00 AM GMT |

Bottom line: mark both dates, use UTC during the transition window if you can, and double-check your recurring meetings. The Meeting Planner handles the math so you don't have to.

For fall transition dates and more DST madness, see Understanding Daylight Saving Time.