Is the Pacific-to-Eastern gap always 3 hours?
Yes. The offset never changes.
When Los Angeles clocks hit 09:00, New York reads 12:00. At 17:00 in Seattle, it is 20:00 in Washington, D.C. At 23:00 in Vancouver, Miami already shows 02:00 the next day.
Both zones spring forward and fall back on the same dates. The only moving part is the UTC offset underneath.
What is PST to EST in winter?
From the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March, standard time governs both coasts.
Pacific Standard Time sits at UTC−8. Eastern Standard Time sits at UTC−5. The gap: 3 hours.
At 08:00 PST, New York hits 11:00 EST. At 14:00 PST, it is 17:00 EST in the Eastern zone.
What is PDT to EDT in summer?
From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, daylight time takes over.
Pacific Daylight Time runs at UTC−7. Eastern Daylight Time runs at UTC−4. The gap stays 3 hours.
At 08:00 PDT, New York shows 11:00 EDT. At 14:00 PDT, it is 17:00 EDT.
Do Pacific and Eastern zones change clocks on the same dates?
They do. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 set the US schedule, effective 2007 onward.
Clocks spring forward the second Sunday of March at 02:00 local time. They fall back the first Sunday of November at 02:00 local time.
Every state on Pacific Time (California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada) and every state on Eastern Time (New York, Florida, Georgia, among others) follows this rule. British Columbia does the same on the Canadian side. Tijuana and Mexicali, the Mexican border cities on Pacific Time, match the US transitions even though the rest of Mexico abolished DST in October 2022.
The 3-hour gap holds.
Quick-reference conversion table
| Pacific Time (PT) | Eastern Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| 05:00 | 08:00 |
| 06:00 | 09:00 |
| 07:00 | 10:00 |
| 08:00 | 11:00 |
| 09:00 | 12:00 |
| 10:00 | 13:00 |
| 11:00 | 14:00 |
| 12:00 | 15:00 |
| 13:00 | 16:00 |
| 14:00 | 17:00 |
| 15:00 | 18:00 |
| 16:00 | 19:00 |
| 17:00 | 20:00 |
| 18:00 | 21:00 |
| 19:00 | 22:00 |
| 20:00 | 23:00 |
| 21:00 | 00:00 (next day) |
| 22:00 | 01:00 (next day) |
| 23:00 | 02:00 (next day) |
| 00:00 | 03:00 |
When can both coasts meet?
The window is narrow.
09:00 to 12:00 Pacific Time gives you 12:00 to 15:00 Eastern Time. Three hours with full staffing on both ends. West Coast is mid-morning. East Coast is lunch through early afternoon.
Push earlier and the West Coast is barely online. At 08:00 PT, it is 11:00 ET: East Coast is already moving, West Coast is just booting up. Push later and you lose the East. At 14:00 PT, it is 17:00 ET: East Coast is walking out the door.
Stock markets follow the same math. NYSE and NASDAQ open at 06:30 PT and close at 13:00 PT. After-hours runs to 17:00 PT, but liquidity drops.
Why do West Coast viewers get tape-delayed TV?
"8/7c" means 20:00 Eastern, 19:00 Central. The West Coast gets the same show at 20:00 local Pacific Time. That is a three-hour tape delay.
Networks want prime time to land at 20:00 in every zone. A live 20:00 ET feed hits the West Coast at 17:00 PT. Most viewers are still commuting or eating dinner. So the network records the feed and plays it back at 20:00 PT.
Live sports flip the logic. NFL games kick off at 10:00 PT to catch the 13:00 ET audience. A West Coast fan watches football at 10:00 in the morning.
Awards shows split the difference. The Oscars go live at 17:00 PT to match the 20:00 ET broadcast. West Coast sees it live in the late afternoon. East Coast gets prime time.