Current Time in America/Indiana/Tell_City Time Zone

Overview and Coverage

America/Indiana/Tell_City is a specific IANA time zone identifier for the Tell City area in southwestern Indiana, United States. It applies to Perry County and possibly adjacent areas that historically followed Central Time. Unlike most of Indiana, which moved to Eastern Time in 2006, Tell City and a few other counties retained Central Time due to their geographic and economic ties to the Midwest. The zone is used solely within the United States.

Standard Offset and Abbreviation

During standard time, the offset is UTC-06:00, commonly called Central Standard Time (CST). When daylight saving time is in effect, the offset shifts to UTC-05:00, known as Central Daylight Time (CDT). The abbreviation CST/CDT is widely recognized across the Central Time Zone of North America.

Daylight Saving Time Behavior

America/Indiana/Tell_City observes daylight saving time (DST) following the United States federal rules. Clocks spring forward one hour on the second Sunday of March and fall back on the first Sunday of November. For example, in 2025, DST begins on March 9 (CDT starts) and ends on November 2 (CST resumes). In 2026, it begins on March 8 and ends on November 1. This pattern is consistent across all U.S. zones that observe DST.

Relation to Other Zones

At standard time (UTC-06:00), America/Indiana/Tell_City shares its offset with many other zones, including America/Chicago, America/Menominee, America/Indiana/Knox, and several zones in Mexico and Central America. However, it is distinct from America/Indiana/Indianapolis (Eastern Time) and America/Indiana/Vincennes, which also follow Eastern Time. The zone's DST behavior aligns with the rest of the Central Time Zone in the U.S., so during DST it matches America/Chicago at UTC-05:00.

Practical Guidance for Scheduling

For business or personal calls involving Tell City, note that the zone follows Central Time. During standard time (November to March), it is UTC-06:00; during daylight time (March to November), UTC-05:00. Key overlap hours with other regions: New York (Eastern) is one hour ahead; Los Angeles (Pacific) is two hours behind during standard time, but only one hour behind during DST. London is six hours ahead during standard time and five hours ahead during DST. When scheduling, always confirm whether DST is active in both locations, as the U.S. and Europe change clocks on different dates.

Historical Context

Tell City's adherence to Central Time stems from its location on the Ohio River and its economic connections to Evansville and the Midwest. While most of Indiana adopted Eastern Time in 2006, a few counties in the southwestern corner, including Perry County, successfully petitioned to remain on Central Time. The IANA zone America/Indiana/Tell_City was created to preserve this local timekeeping history.