Texas confronts a chilly blast of climate change reality

An Arctic air mass and a severe winter storm have left millions of people in the central U.S. without power. Most are in energy-rich Texas, where utilities have imposed rolling blackouts to ration electricity and avoid mass power failures.

What’s going on?

While utilities plan for weather extremes and work to storm-proof their networks, this event is more severe than anything in the “normal” range for Texas, energy expert Michael Webber explains. But as the climate continues to change, utilities will have to rethink what they consider normal – and prepare for more temperature swings that bring big chills to warmer states and intense heat waves to colder climes, he writes.

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