High winds, rains, winter storms and tropical cyclones accounted for 80% of power interruptions over the last 20 years

Power outages in the US are surging, as climate-related extreme weather strain an already burdened energy grid.

Over the last decade, severe storm outages increased by 74% compared with the previous 10 years.

High winds, rains, winter storms and tropical cyclones including hurricanes, accounted for 80% of all power interruptions over the last 20 years, a new report from non-profit research group Climate Central shows.

“We’re seeing that the warming is having a direct impact on severe weather,” said Jen Brady, author of the report and senior data analyst at Climate Central. “The conditions that our infrastructure was built to handle are much different [now] than what they were.”