Converting timestamps to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) in Snowflake is an essential skill for managing and analyzing data. In this blog post, we'll cover Snowflake timestamp types and provide examples of how to convert these types to UTC.

What are the Snowflake Timestamp Types?

Snowflake offers several timestamp data types to cater to various use cases. These data types store date and time values with different levels of time zone information:

1. TIMESTAMP_NTZ (No Time Zone): Stores date and time values without time zone information. TIMESTAMP_NTZ is suitable for scenarios where time zone information is irrelevant or not required. For example, a TIMESTAMP_NTZ value may look like this: <span class="code-exp">2021-04-13 13:49:41.000</span>.
2. TIMESTAMP_LTZ (Local Time Zone): Stores date and time values with automatic conversion to the local time zone of the user querying the data. TIMESTAMP_LTZ is ideal when you need to display the data in the user's local time zone without explicitly storing time zone information. For example, a TIMESTAMP_LTZ value may appear as <span class="code-exp">2021-04-13 13:49:41.000</span>, but it will be displayed in the local time zone of the user viewing the data.
3. TIMESTAMP_TZ (Time Zone): Stores date and time values with explicit time zone information. TIMESTAMP_TZ is appropriate for use cases where time zone information is crucial and should be preserved. For example, a TIMESTAMP_TZ value may look like this: <span class="code-exp">2021-04-13 13:49:41.000 -07:00</span>, where <span class="code-exp">07:00</span> is the time zone offset from UTC.

Understanding the differences between these Snowflake timestamp types will help you choose the most suitable type for your specific data requirements. Now let's learn how to convert these timestamp types to UTC.

Why You Should Convert Timestamps to UTC

Converting timestamps to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is crucial for several reasons. Here are some key benefits of converting timestamps to UTC:

1. Consistency Across Time Zones

By converting timestamps to UTC, you standardize your data across different time zones. This ensures that your data is consistent and can be easily compared, regardless of the time zone in which it was generated.

2. Avoiding Daylight Saving Time (DST) Issues

Daylight Saving Time (DST) can introduce discrepancies in your data when comparing timestamps from different time zones. Converting timestamps to UTC eliminates these issues, as UTC does not observe DST.

3. Simplifying Data Analysis and Collaboration

When working with a team of data analysts or engineers located in different time zones, converting timestamps to UTC simplifies collaboration by providing a unified point of reference. This helps avoid confusion and errors that could arise from misinterpreted timestamps.

4. Easier Data Integration

If you need to integrate data from multiple sources, it's essential to have a consistent time format. By converting timestamps to UTC, you create a common format that makes data integration more manageable and less error-prone.

5. Facilitating Internationalization

As businesses expand globally, dealing with multiple time zones becomes increasingly important. By converting timestamps to UTC, you ensure that your data is suitable for internationalization, making it easier to support users and customers across the world.

In conclusion, converting timestamps to UTC in Snowflake is essential for achieving consistency, avoiding DST issues, simplifying data analysis and collaboration, easing data integration, and facilitating internationalization.

How to Convert from Epoch to UTC

An epoch timestamp is a representation of time in seconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. To convert an epoch value to a UTC timestamp in Snowflake, you can use the <span class="code-exp">TO_TIMESTAMP</span> function. Here's an example:

SELECT TO_TIMESTAMP(1618302181) AS utc_timestamp;

In this example, the epoch value <span class="code-exp">1618302181</span> is converted to the UTC timestamp <span class="code-exp">2021-04-13 13:49:41.000</span>.

How to Convert from TIMESTAMP_NTZ to UTC

To convert a TIMESTAMP_NTZ value to UTC, you can use the <span class="code-exp">CONVERT_TIMEZONE</span> function. Here's an example:

SELECT CONVERT_TIMEZONE('UTC', TO_TIMESTAMP_LTZ('2021-04-13 13:49:41.000')) AS utc_timestamp;

In this example, the TIMESTAMP_NTZ value 2021-04-13 13:49:41.000 is converted to the UTC timestamp 2021-04-13 13:49:41.000.

How to Convert from TIMESTAMP_LTZ to UTC

To convert a TIMESTAMP_LTZ value to UTC, you can use the <span class="code-exp">CONVERT_TIMEZONE</span> function. Here's an example:

SELECT CONVERT_TIMEZONE('UTC', TO_TIMESTAMP_LTZ('2021-04-13 13:49:41.000')) AS utc_timestamp;

In this example, the TIMESTAMP_LTZ value <span class="code-exp">2021-04-13 13:49:41.000</span> is converted to the UTC timestamp <span class="code-exp">2021-04-13 13:49:41.000</span>.

How to Convert from TIMESTAMP_TZ to UTC

To convert a TIMESTAMP_TZ value to UTC, you can use the <span class="code-exp">CONVERT_TIMEZONE</span> function. Here's an example:

SELECT CONVERT_TIMEZONE('UTC', TO_TIMESTAMP_TZ('2021-04-13 13:49:41.000 -07:00')) AS utc_timestamp;

In this example, the TIMESTAMP_TZ value <span class="code-exp">2021-04-13 13:49:41.000 -07:00</span> is converted to the UTC timestamp <span class="code-exp">2021-04-13 20:49:41.000</span>.

Conclusion

In this technical reference guide, we covered how to convert different Snowflake timestamp types to UTC, including epoch, TIMESTAMP_NTZ, TIMESTAMP_LTZ, and TIMESTAMP_TZ. Converting Snowflake's local time to UTC is essential for accurate data analysis and management.

Further reading

• How to build a Snowflake API
• Propel UI Kit: Data visualization and dashboard React components
• 5-Minute demo: How to expose your Snowflake data via a blazing-fast GraphQL API

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