Mapping Regional Grid Vulnerabilities Across 50 US Metropolitan Storm Corridors

Electrical grid infrastructure in the United States faces asymmetric weather vulnerabilities depending on localized geography. While coastal Florida contends with shallow storm surge substation flooding, Texas faces severe thermal stress on its independent ERCOT grid.

To provide disaster readiness planners and telecommuters with actionable benchmarks, our research group cataloged outage duration patterns across 50 major metropolitan corridors.

📊 Key Hazard Findings

  • Gulf Coast (Miami, Tampa, Houston, New Orleans): Historical multi-day blackout duration averages 72 to 144 hours following major hurricane landfalls. Sump pump continuous power and refrigeration in high humidity are vital.
  • Texas Central & Northern (Dallas, Austin): Radial ice loading on overhead distribution lines leads to extensive branch failures, creating 24 to 72-hour sub-zero winter outages.
  • California Wildfire Corridors (Los Angeles, San Diego): High-wind Santa Ana events trigger utility Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), cutting power for 24 to 48 hours.

🔗 Open Access Dataset & Regional Tools

We have open-sourced the underlying research and regional datasheets for public analysis: