Daylight Saving Time Ends Sunday: When Do Clocks Fall Back in Austin?
Austin turns the clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1 — the morning after Halloween — gaining an hour of sleep and losing evening light heading into Election Day week.
Daylight saving time ends this weekend in Austin. At 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, clocks turn back one hour to 1 a.m., and the city moves from daylight time to standard time for the winter.
The change closes the 2026 daylight saving season, which began on Sunday, March 8, when clocks moved forward one hour. Searches for 'daylight saving time' are rising nationally this week as households check when the clocks fall back — it was among the calendar-driven entries in the latest U.S. search-trends roundup read by this desk on Monday morning.
The practical effect in Austin is in the evening. Sunset, at 6:48 p.m. on Monday, will fall roughly an hour earlier by the clock from Sunday onward, so the after-work drive home and Halloween-weekend's Sunday evening will both end in earlier darkness. Most phones and computers update on their own; ovens, microwaves and car clocks are the ones that usually need a hand.
The timing also lands in election week. Early voting in Travis County runs through Friday, October 30, and Election Day is Tuesday, November 3 — the first Tuesday under standard time — with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters making a morning plan for Tuesday should count on a darker early start than this week.
