CHICAGO (January 8, 2026)—Over the last decade, extreme weather events were the cause of the top 10 worst power outages in the central United States, according to new analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). As climate change brings about more frequent and intense extreme weather events in the coming years, electrical grid operators such as the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), states and utilities must ensure the grid is adequately prepared. Failure to prepare for future extreme weather will mean more outages for more customers.
“MISO is in the middle of building the grid that communities will depend on for power for the next 50 years,” said Sam Gomberg, associate director of transmission policy at UCS and a report author. “What the region has experienced with extreme weather over the past decade, and what climate science is telling us to expect over the coming decades, should be a warning bell to MISO, states and utilities responsible for keeping the lights on.”
In reviewing the 100 worst power outage days in the central United States between 2014 and 2024, UCS found that 100% were caused by extreme weather. These outages left hundreds of thousands of customers without power, sometimes repeatedly and for days at a time. The top 10 worst outage events, measured by peak number of customers affected, left between nearly 800,000 and 1.6 million customers without power. The most damaging events were nearly always caused by multiple weather events occurring within a short period of time, like the August 2020 Midwest Derecho that produced more than 20 tornados. Sequential storms like back-to-back Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta in 2020 pose another type of challenge, leaving hardly any time for communities to recover between events.
“When we look at the data, we see that the worst power outages in our country’s heartland are driven by extreme storms—and the best available science affirms climate change is making those storms worse,” said report co-author Dr. Susanne Moser. “As grid-damaging storms occur more frequently, areas directly affected have little time to rebuild before the next extreme weather event and end up spiraling into deeper and deeper vulnerability. Understanding the risks this poses for the electricity grid—and investing in the grid to mitigate those risks—is a question of safety for people and their families.”
The impacts of power outages caused by extreme weather are not borne equally. Disasters worsen social inequalities in compounding ways, displacing people from their homes, draining financial resources and reducing access to health care and emergency services. Power disruptions disproportionately harm low-income, the elderly and medically vulnerable individuals, which is why building a resilient electricity grid must center equity and the needs of those most at risk of being harmed by an outage.
“Extreme weather events can no longer be shrugged away as acts of God or system anomalies that we have no power to foresee or plan for,” said Dr. Rachel Licker, lead author of the report. “Many parts of the central United States are projected to experience increases in severe thunderstorms, including derechos and hailstorms, and greater rainfall from hurricanes that make landfall. Some parts of the region may see more intense snowstorms, as well. Policymakers need to increase the electricity grid’s resilience to worsening climate change-fueled extreme weather or people will lose electricity, heat and air conditioning when they need it most. Failure to act is negligence that some could pay for with their lives.”
The UCS report recommends grid planners assess future climate risks facing the central United States and develop strategies to limit disruptions to the grid. States, utilities and regional transmission organizations must go beyond reacting to extreme weather as one-off disasters and instead plan for and adapt to changing climate and weather patterns to build a more resilient grid. Input from the communities most vulnerable to power outages will be crucial to ensuring grid investments address existing inequities. At the same time, utilities and states must invest in renewable energy, moving away from the fossil fuels driving climate change and extreme weather.
“Unfortunately, the Trump Administration’s attacks on science are undermining grid resilience and future planning,” said Dr. Amanda Fencl, director of climate science at UCS and co-author of the report. “Grid operators rely on credible, publicly available—and often government funded—scientific research to understand risks posed by extreme weather events. Attacks by the Trump administration on the National Weather Service and NOAA, which provide weather and climate information grid operators use daily, only exacerbate the harms from extreme weather and prolonged outages. States, utilities and RTOs are ultimately responsible for keeping people’s lights on and must speak loudly in defense of crucial federal scientific research and services.”