| Central Standard Time Zone |
Index for Central |
Hotel Reservations in Central |
Limousines in Central |
Website Links For Central |
Information AboutCentral Standard Time Zone |
|
The Central Time Zone ('''CST''') observes Standard Time by subtracting six hours from UTC during standard time ( UTC-6 ) and five hours during Daylight Saving time ( UTC-5 ).
The zone is one hour ahead of the Mountain Time Zone and one hour behind the Eastern Time Zone . In Canada , this Time Zone includes all of Manitoba , nearly all of Saskatchewan , a slice of western Ontario , and most of Kivalliq Region , of Nunavut . In the United States , the time zone includes the entire area of the states of Alabama , Arkansas , Illinois , Iowa , Louisiana , Minnesota , Missouri , Mississippi , Oklahoma , and Wisconsin ; and portions of Florida , Indiana , Kansas , Kentucky , Michigan , Nebraska , North Dakota , South Dakota , Tennessee , and Texas . Phenix City, Alabama and the surrounding countryside, while officially in Central Time, observe Eastern Time unofficially because of close ties to Columbus, Georgia . Most of Mexico belongs to the Central Time Zone, with the six northwestern-most States being the exception. UTC-6 is also observed in the Central American countries of Belize , Guatemala , Honduras , El Salvador , Nicaragua and Costa Rica . In South America, this zone includes the Ecuador ian province of Galápagos . Central Daylight Time Daylight Saving Time is in effect in much of the time zone between early April and late October. The modified time is called Central Daylight Time ('''CDT''') and is UTC-5 . Saskatchewan, Central America and Galápagos do not observe the change, remaining on Standard Time year round. One reason that Saskatchewan does not take part in the time change is that geographically, most of the province should be placed in the Mountain Time Zone. To avoid this, they have moved onto "permanent" Daylight Saving by being part of the Central Time Zone. The only exception is the region immediately surrounding the Saskatchewan side of the biprovincial city of Lloydminster , which has chosen to use Mountain Time with DST, synchronizing its clocks with those of Alberta . Broadcasting concerns Due to the structure of broadcasting networks in the United States (mostly Television , but to a lesser extent Radio as well), programming is aired simultaneously in the Eastern and Central Time zones, thus the famous line "tonight at 8, 7 Central" on many network promotional ads. This arrangement is mostly acceptable, though morning programming lineups designed for East Coast viewers may start too early for viewers in the Midwest and the central South ; hence, they are Tape-delayed to air at 7 a.m. Central (except when breaking news happens or special occasions such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade , which airs at 9 a.m. Eastern/8 a.m. Central, pushing back the morning shows to air live at 6 a.m. Central). Also, a half-hour of Syndicated programming time (between 7 p.m.-8 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone) is lost since network Prime Time starts at 7 p.m. Central, forcing TV stations to choose from airing their 6 p.m. newscast and a program, or airing shows in 'blocks' preferred by syndicators (i.e. '' Wheel Of Fortune '' and '' Jeopardy! '' together, or '' Entertainment Tonight '' and '' The Insider ''). Many stations in the Central Time Zone tend to air one part of the syndicated block at 5 p.m. or even earlier. Similarly, media coverage of countdown for Television viewers in the Central Time Zone. Canadian broadcasting networks, with six time zones to span, sometimes are able to avoid these issues by airing prerecorded programs on local time, although adjustments are sometimes still made (mainly due to the influence of U.S. television). The problem is largely moot in Mexico and other parts of Latin America because of the lack of significant other time zones. Alphabetical list of cities and metropolitan areas
See also
|