New Jersey
Daylight saving time 2026: When do clocks spring forward this year?
New Jerseyans will lose an hour of sleep on March 8, 2026, when Daylight Saving Time returns, despite growing public frustration with the biannual clock changes and ongoing debate about making the practice permanent.
At 2 a.m. on that Sunday, clocks will jump forward to 3 a.m. across most of the United States. The clocks will fall back on November 1, 2026, returning to standard time.
The sun will set at around 5:57 p.m. in New Jersey on Saturday, March 7. The following day, after the time shift and the end of standard time, sunset is at about 6:58 p.m.
However, the sun will rise nearly an hour later at about 7:21 a.m. on Sunday, March 8, after coming up at approximately 6:23 a.m. the previous day, making for darker mornings.
Spring officially arrives at 10:46 a.m. on Friday, March 20.
Feb. 4 marked the mid-point of winter. From here on, we’re closer to the spring equinox than the winter solstice, and the amount of daylight we have each day in New Jersey continues to increase.
The sun will set at 5:31 p.m. in Atlantic City and and 5:27 p.m. in Newark on Thursday, Feb. 12.
Hawaii and most of Arizona remain the only states that don’t observe the time changes, along with several U.S. territories including Puerto Rico and Guam. The Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time despite being located within Arizona.
While many Americans want to end the twice-yearly ritual, chronobiologists generally advocate for permanent standard time instead, arguing it better aligns people’s schedules with the sun year-round.
Till Roenneberg, a pioneering chronobiologist and sleep researcher, warned that permanent DST would make Europeans “dicker, dümmer und grantiger” (fatter, dumber, and grumpier).
“Any schedule that implies that you have to get up before sunrise may cause problems,” said Derk-Jan Dijk, a sleep and physiology professor at the University of Surrey.
The Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act in March 2022, which would have established permanent daylight saving time nationwide, but the House never voted on the legislation.
A similar bill, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 was introduced last January. The proposal would make Daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time.
Multiple states have passed laws supporting year-round daylight saving time, but they cannot implement the change without federal authorization.
The practice originated during World War I as a fuel-saving measure, not for agricultural purposes as commonly believed. The 1966 Uniform Time Act established the current national schedule after decades of local time chaos.
Police fired tear gas and used horses to push back protesters outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, after nights of demonstrations over conditions inside. New Jersey’s governor put state police in charge and set up protected protest zones.
Published On 30 May 2026
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In New Jersey, Mercer County officials have enacted new policies limiting the ability of federal immigration agents to access and use county property to conduct immigration enforcement operations.
Mercer County Executive Dan Benson issued an executive order and the Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution Friday that bans U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol from using any nonpublic area on county property to enforce immigration law, unless they have obtained a judicial warrant or judicial order.
“From Minneapolis to Delaney Hall, ICE has repeatedly shown a total disregard for the law and for the constitutional rights of citizens and non-citizens alike,” Benson said in a statement. “We respect the Federal Government’s authority to enforce immigration law, but we will not allow them to use County properties to harass our families.”
“With this resolution, we’re sending a clear message that everyone in our community can safely interact with County government, and access County services, without fear,” said Board of Commissioners Chair Terrance Stokes in a statement. “ICE’s actions threaten the fabric of our community, and we will take whatever steps we can, within the bounds of the law, to protect our residents.”
New Jersey and New York City commuters are facing extensive delays in and out of New York Penn Station Friday, with intensifying ripple effects, after an Amtrak work train car on one of the hub’s tracks caught fire.
The FDNY says it was called to the Midtown scene on 31st Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues, around 1:30 a.m. Nearly 100 personnel responded. Five civilians were evaluated at the scene by EMS, officials say.
It’s not clear what sparked the fire involving Amtrak’s contractor maintenance vehicles in one of the Hudson River Tunnels. It was knocked down well before 6 a.m., but service on New Jersey Transit, Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road and more was expected to see heavy impacts well into the morning rush, with Hudson River trains operating at reduced capacity. Amtrak said it didn’t expect to lift its suspension until at least noon.
Travel Advisory: Due to unforeseen track and signal maintenance resulting from a now extinguished fire in the New York area, all services traveling south of New York (NYP) are temporarily suspended. This suspension is anticipated to be in place until noon at a minimum. Services…
— Amtrak Northeast (@AmtrakNECAlerts) May 29, 2026
New Jersey Transit and LIRR also announced delays and cancellations. Cross-honoring and diversion programs were in effect as the situation developed. Complete LIRR service at NY Penn had resumed by around 7 a.m., Friday said, though equipment issues were causing cancellations. Get the latest transit information here.
Video from outside Penn Station showed smoke billowing in the pre-dawn hours, as emergency personnel stood by with stretchers awaiting any potential victims.
Amtrak is investigating the cause of the fire.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause,” the agency’s latest announcement said, pledging to provide updates as new information becomes available.
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