Understanding MST and CST
MST stands for Mountain Standard Time, UTC−7, used in Mountain North America. CST stands for Central Standard Time, UTC−6, used in Central North America. These are specific offset definitions, not automatic substitutes for the local time in a city.
How do you convert MST to CST?
Subtract the source offset from the destination offset: -360 − (-420) = 60 minutes. Add 60 minutes from the MST time. For example, 9:00 AM MST is 10:00 AM CST (same day). If the result crosses midnight, the calendar day changes too.
Does daylight saving time change this conversion?
The difference between these named offsets is fixed. A location may switch to a different abbreviation during daylight saving time, so an invitation saying “EST” can differ from the actual summer time in New York.
MST is UTC−7. Many Mountain locations use MDT (UTC−6) in summer; most of Arizona stays on MST.
CST here means North American Central Standard Time, not China Standard Time (UTC+8) or Cuba Standard Time (UTC−5). Most US Central locations use CDT (UTC−5) in summer.
Which day does the converted time fall on?
“Previous day” means the destination is one calendar day before the source; “Next day” means one day after. Dates are relative to the day of your input time. A time-only conversion cannot determine a specific calendar date.