Report: Extreme weather poses threats to U.S. power grid
Recent Associated Press (AP) analysis revealed that the United States power grid is at risk as extreme weather continues to show up across the country.
From droughts in Texas and California, to flooding from historic rains in South Carolina, to mudslides and flooding in the Pacific Northwest, 2015 has been no stranger to extreme weather in the U.S. And that’s not to mention huge events of the past decade like Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike, and others.
According to the AP, such storms and severe weather events are a growing threat to the country, as the leading cause of major outages on the nation’s power grid is extreme weather. The largest concentrations of weather-related power outages occurred in 2008 and 2011, the AP noted.
Extreme weather poses increasing threat to US power grid https://t.co/6SRcyKs1Lj #News pic.twitter.com/GJ4X4a1iRR
— WBT Radio (@wbtradio) December 22, 2015
The risks associated with severe weather and the effects of these weather events vary widely — much like the terrain across the continental U.S.
In the West, states like California have been battling drought and associated wildfires can damage power lines directly or indirectly (tree limbs). In the southern and southeastern coastal states, flooding resulting from superstorms and other severe storms frequently leads to blackouts for thousands of utility customers.
If recent history means anything, utility companies have their work cut out for them as the U.S. braces for more extreme weather events in the coming years.
Source → Associated Press
