PDT to EST Converter - Time Zone Tool (2024)

Time Zone Converter: Pacific Daylight Time to Eastern Standard Time

The comparison between Pacific Daylight Time and Eastern Standard Time is a comparison that is rare to see. The majority of the United States uses Daylight Saving Time in a universal cycle defined by the Uniform Time Act of 1966. In the majority of cases, any location in the Pacific Daylight zone will translate to Eastern Daylight Time instead of the standard variation during the summer months.

If we were converting between these two time zones, there would be a two hour difference. PDT is seven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) so it is written as UTC -7:00. EST is five hours behind UTC, written as UTC -5:00. Here?s an example:

If it is 2:15 PM in Pacific Daylight Time, then it is 4:15 PM in Eastern Standard Time. This gap widens when both zones are off of DST in the winter months. When both standard times are in effect, the difference is three hours.

The U.S. States of California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington observe this time zone either in whole or portions of the state. There are two Canadian provinces who fall into this zone: British Columbia and Yukon. Finally, the Mexican state of Baja California Norte is also within this zone.

Originally, the local time in this zone switched into Daylight Saving time on the first Sunday in April and returned to the original time on the last Sunday in October. In 2007, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the changes moved to the second Sunday in March and changed back on the first Sunday in November.

This change was observed by the Canadian provinces that follow DST between the years of 2005 and 2007. Mexico joined the extended dates, but the majority of the country still uses the old dates.

This zone, and all others in the U.S. were born out of necessity. As railroads shortened the travel time across vast distances, the difference in time became apparent, and schedule became vastly inaccurate as a result. The Eastern zone was one of five zones originally proposed by William F. Allen who was the editor of Traveler?s Official Railway Guide.

The original borders of these zones ran vertically through railroad stations and major cities. For example, the border between the Eastern and Central zones ran through Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Charleston. It was first implemented on November 18, 1883 in what was known as ?The Day of Two Noons.?

There was much confusion over individual zones until the U.S. Congress adopted the Standard Time Act which created a civil time for the nation.