Fact-check: Several states observe multiple time zones. Is North Carolina one of them?
North Carolina has observed Eastern Standard Time for nearly 80 years.
But that didn’t stop the curious from wondering whether the state is one of the few that is in more than one time zone. On Thursday afternoon, the search for “Is North Carolina eastern time?” spiked by 600 percent on Google Trends.
The U.S. has nine time zones, with some states falling into two zones, according to the U.S. time zone map. The contiguous U.S. has four time zones, and many online have been searching whether North Carolina has more than time zone.
North Carolina observes Eastern Standard Time statewide, meaning there’s no need to adjust your watch or alarm clocks.
But it hasn’t always been that way.
When time zones were first established in the U.S. in 1883, most of North Carolina was in the Eastern Standard Time zone, according to NCPedia. However, the western limit for that zone ran through Asheville, which left a portion of western North Carolina in the Central Standard Time zone.
In 1946, most North Carolina cities in the Central Standard Time zone passed ordinances changing to Eastern Standard Time. North Carolina fully adopted Eastern Standard Time a year later.
Why were time zones created?
Time zones were created to make railroad schedules earlier to maintain.
There were more than 140 local times in North America before time zones were established, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
When more people began to travel by railroad, some would arrive at an earlier local time than the one they had left.
The lack of time standardization made rail schedules difficult to coordinate, which resulted in collisions on the tracks. Because of this issue, the major railroad companies began to operate on a schedule based on four time zones in 1883.
Which states fall into more than one time zone?
There are 15 states that have more than one time zone, USA Today reported:
Alaska: Hawaii-Aleutian time and Alaska time
Arizona: Mountain Standard Time and Mountain time
Florida: Central time and Eastern time
Idaho: Pacific time and Mountain time
Indiana: Central time and Eastern time
Kansas: Mountain time and Central time
Kentucky: Central time and Eastern time
Michigan: Central time and Eastern time
Nebraska: Mountain time and Central time
Nevada: Mountain time and Pacific time
North Dakota: Mountain time and Central time
Oregon: Mountain time and Pacific time
South Dakota: Mountain time and Central time
Tennessee: Central time and Eastern time
Texas: Mountain time and Central time
All states on the East Coast, with the exception of Florida, observe Eastern Standard Time statewide, according to the U.S. time zone map.
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Fact-check: Several states observe multiple time zones. Is North Carolina one of them?."
