What is the Time Zone for Arizona?

Arizona is located in the Mountain Standard Time Zone. This time zone is seven hours behind coordinated universal time (UTC-7). But what does this mean in practice? Is Arizona in the same time zone as New York? Does it observe daylight savings time? When does the time change in Arizona? Read on to find out the answer to all these questions and more.

What is Arizona’s Time Zone?

Arizona is in the Mountain Standard Time Zone (MST). This is the same time zone as most of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and part of Montana. Arizona spends most of the year in this time zone, but switches to Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) in the summer and back to MST in the fall.

What is the Difference Between MST and MDT?

MST, also known as Mountain Standard Time, is seven hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, or UTC-7. This means people living in Arizona and other states in the MST time zone observe the same hours year-round. MDT, or Mountain Daylight Time, is six hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, or UTC-6. It is observed in the summer when the clocks are set ahead one hour for daylight savings time. People in Arizona and other states observing MDT get an extra hour of daylight in the evenings.

Does Arizona Observe Daylight Savings Time?

Yes, Arizona does observe daylight savings time. The state begins observing Mountain Daylight Time in the spring and Daylight Saving Time ends with the return to Mountain Standard Time in the fall. The current dates set by the US Department of Transportation are March 8th 2020 (turn clocks ahead one hour) and November 1st 2020 (turn clocks back one hour).

Is Arizona in the Same Time Zone as New York?

No, Arizona is not in the same time zone as New York. New York is located in the Eastern Time Zone and is three hours ahead of Arizona during standard time (four hours ahead during daylight savings time). This means if it is 1 pm in Arizona it is 4 pm in New York.

Conclusion

Arizona is located in the Mountain Standard Time Zone (MST). This time zone is seven hours behind coordinated universal time, or UTC-7. During the summer people in Arizona and other states observing this time zone switch to Mountain Daylight Time (MDT). Arizona does observe daylight savings time and moves their clocks one hour ahead in the spring and one hour back in the fall. New York is located in the Eastern Time Zone and is three hours ahead of Arizona during standard time (four hours ahead during daylight savings time).