ST. THOMAS — As daylight saving time takes effect across most of the United States, residents in the U.S. Virgin Islands are again being reminded that clocks in the territory do not change.
The shift to daylight saving time occurred at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 8, when clocks in the parts of the United States that observe it moved forward by one hour. That means people in many mainland states lost an hour of sleep over the weekend as the country entered its annual spring time change.
The Virgin Islands, however, does not observe daylight saving time and remains on Atlantic Standard Time throughout the year. For residents of the territory, that means no clocks need to be adjusted and local time remains unchanged even as much of the mainland moves ahead for the spring and summer months.
The distinction often causes confusion, particularly around this time of year, as business hours, travel schedules, virtual meetings, broadcast times, and government operations tied to the mainland can appear to shift by an hour from the perspective of people living in the Virgin Islands. Because the territory does not spring forward, the time difference between the Virgin Islands and some U.S. cities changes when daylight saving time begins. This is an inference based on the fact that most of the mainland changes clocks while the Virgin Islands does not.
According to federal time guidance, the Virgin Islands is among the U.S. jurisdictions that do not observe daylight saving time. The same is true for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Hawaii, and most of Arizona.
For Virgin Islands residents, the practical takeaway is simple: if you are hearing that daylight saving time is starting, that change applies to most of the mainland United States, not to the territory. In the Virgin Islands, clocks stay exactly where they are.
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