Convert List To Datetime In Pandas

I have the foll. list in pandas: str = jan_1 jan_15 feb_1 feb_15 mar_1 mar_15 apr_1 apr_15 may_1 may_15 jun_1 jun_15 jul_1 jul_15 aug_1 aug_15 sep_1 sep_15

Solution 1:

You have to specify the format argument while calling pd.to_datetime. Try

pd.to_datetime(pd.Series(s), format='%b_%d')

this gives

0   1900-01-01
1   1900-01-15
2   1900-02-01
3   1900-02-15
4   1900-03-01
5   1900-03-15
6   1900-04-01
7   1900-04-15
8   1900-05-01
9   1900-05-15

For setting the current year, a hack may be required, like

pd.to_datetime(pd.Series(s) + '_2015', format='%b_%d_%Y')

to get

0   2015-01-01
1   2015-01-15
2   2015-02-01
3   2015-02-15
4   2015-03-01
5   2015-03-15
6   2015-04-01
7   2015-04-15
8   2015-05-01
9   2015-05-15