We can’t say yet if grid-breaking thunderstorms are getting worse – but we shouldn’t wait to find out

By Andrew Dowdy, Principal Research Scientist, The University of Melbourne
Andrew Brown, Ph.D. student, The University of Melbourne
Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne
Claire Vincent, Senior Lecturer in Atmospheric Science, The University of Melbourne
Michael Brear, Director, Melbourne Energy Institute, The University of Melbourne
Pierluigi Mancarella, Chair Professor of Electrical Power Systems, The University of Melbourne
Todd Lane, Professor, School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne, The University of Melbourne

On February 13, six transmission line towers in Victoria were destroyed by extreme wind gusts from thunderstorms, leading to forced electricity outages affecting tens of thousands of people. The intense winds knocked trees onto local power lines or toppled the poles, which caused about 500,000 people to lose power. Some people went without electricity for more than a week. A month earlier, severe thunderstorms and wind took out five transmission towers in Western Australia…

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