Weather-related Power Outages Rising

Between 2000 and 2023, 80% of major U.S. power outages were caused by weather, with a significant increase in frequency during the last decade. Severe weather, winter storms, and tropical cyclones are the primary drivers, with Texas and the Southeast region among the most affected. The document highlights the vulnerability of aging infrastructure and the disproportionate impact on marginalized and medically vulnerable populations, while suggesting grid hardening, microgrids, and emissions reductions as paths toward resilience.

• Weather-related events were the primary cause of major U.S. power outages between 2000 and 2023, accounting for 80% (1,755) of all reported major outages. The frequency of these events has increased, with approximately twice as many weather-related outages occurring from 2014 to 2023 compared to the period from 2000 to 2009.
• The most frequent causes of weather-related outages were severe weather (58%), winter weather (23%), and tropical cyclones (14%). While tropical cyclones represent a smaller percentage of total events, they are responsible for most of the longest-lasting outages through 2022. Extreme heat and wildfires accounted for 3% and 2% of outages, respectively, with over half of wildfire-related outages concentrated in the last five years.
• Geographically, the Southeast (360), South (352), Northeast (350), and Ohio Valley (301) were the regions with the highest number of weather-related outages. At the state level, Texas had the most reported outages (210), followed by Michigan (157), California (145), North Carolina (111), and Ohio (88).
• Power outages disproportionately affect people of color and vulnerable populations, including older people and those with disabilities or medical conditions. Long-duration outages were particularly prevalent from 2018 to 2020 in the Northeast, South, and Appalachia, with significant impacts in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Michigan counties with high concentrations of socially and medically vulnerable residents.
• To improve grid resilience, the document suggests rapidly cutting emissions to slow warming, as well as implementing near-term solutions such as microgrids powered by solar and wind, smart grid sensors, and grid hardening measures like burying transmission lines or replacing wooden poles with steel or concrete.

APA

Carvallo, J. P., & Casey, J. (2024). Weather-related Power Outages Rising. Climate Central. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/weather-related-power-outages-rising

Chicago

Carvallo, Juan Pablo, and Joan Casey. Weather-related Power Outages Rising. Climate Central, 2024. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/weather-related-power-outages-rising.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carvallo |first1=Juan Pablo |last2=Casey |first2=Joan |title=Weather-related Power Outages Rising |publisher=Climate Central |date=24 April 2024 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/weather-related-power-outages-rising |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carvallo2024weatherrelated, author = {Carvallo, Juan Pablo and Casey, Joan}, title = {{Weather-related Power Outages Rising}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/weather-related-power-outages-rising}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }