Minimizing Grid Downtime During Severe Weather Events
As extreme weather becomes more frequent and intense, utility providers face mounting pressure to protect infrastructure, maintain service reliability, and respond to outages with unprecedented speed. Every minute of grid downtime during a storm not only costs money—it can jeopardize public safety, disrupt commerce, and erode customer trust.
Yet with the right tools, grid operators don’t have to wait for the worst to react. They can prepare.
Climavision’s advanced weather forecasting suite—supported by AI and powered by proprietary data—enables utilities to plan days ahead, respond more efficiently during storms, and protect grid assets with unparalleled precision.
In Summary
- Advanced lead time saves lives and resources: Horizon AI Global accurately forecasted major storms like Hurricane Beryl and Helene up to 9 days in advance, giving utilities time to stage crews and reinforce infrastructure.
- High-resolution storm tracking prevents surprises: Horizon AI HIRES identified damaging derecho winds in Houston and Chicago hours before impact—outperforming traditional models and enabling faster response.
- Asset-level forecasting protects critical infrastructure: Horizon AI Point delivers hyper-local forecasts for substations, transmission lines, and renewable assets, minimizing risk and improving operational efficiency.
- Climavision forecasts across every time horizon: From 15-day global trends to hour-by-hour point forecasts, Climavision’s suite enables proactive planning, real-time decision-making, and faster outage recovery.
- Grid reliability starts with precision weather intelligence: Utilities using Climavision reduce downtime, improve safety, and gain a competitive edge in an era of extreme and unpredictable weather.
Grid Disruptions Are Increasing—and So Is the Need for Forecast Intelligence
Weather is the leading cause of major power outages in the U.S. According to the Department of Energy, severe weather events—like hurricanes, derechos, ice storms, and heatwaves—account for more than 70% of large-scale outages.
The cost of these disruptions is staggering: billions in lost productivity, massive logistical hurdles, and downstream effects on hospitals, emergency services, and critical infrastructure. Traditional forecasting methods—often relying on government models and general regional alerts—simply don’t offer the resolution or lead time required to act effectively.
What’s needed is a new approach—one that empowers utilities to move from reaction to prevention.
Precision Forecasting Across All Time Horizons
Minimizing downtime isn’t just about responding quickly—it’s about anticipating accurately. Climavision’s Horizon AI Forecasting Suite is built to deliver forecast intelligence across every critical stage of the operational timeline:
- Weeks in advance: Identify potential major weather threats and begin strategic planning.
- Days in advance: Position crews, adjust generation, and secure backup systems.
- Hours in advance: Issue hyper-local asset alerts and fine-tune storm response.
- During impact: Monitor evolving conditions in real-time to make rapid, informed decisions.
This full-spectrum forecasting capability gives utility professionals the confidence to act early, protect infrastructure, and maintain customer trust—even during the most volatile events.
Climavision’s Horizon AI Forecasting Suite: Built for Operational Impact
Horizon AI Global: The Long-Range Alert System
Climavision’s Horizon AI Global model offers extended-range forecasts up to 15 days in advance. Unlike most providers that rely on government output, Horizon AI Global processes 1.5 billion global novel observations daily using advanced AI-driven data assimilation and high-performance computing.
Recent case studies demonstrate how this model consistently outperformed the GFS and ECMWF:
- Hurricane Beryl (2024): Horizon AI Global accurately identified a landfall near Matagorda, Texas nine days in advance, giving utilities rare lead time to stage crews and prepare infrastructure. See the case study here.
- Hurricane Helene (2024): The model nailed the storm’s northeast track through Georgia and the southern Appalachians, enabling better flood and wind impact planning. See the case study here.
For electric utilities, this means:
- Early insight into high-impact weather trends
- Proactive crew mobilization and resource staging
- Smarter procurement and load management ahead of surges
Horizon AI HIRES: Hyper-Local, High-Resolution Storm Detection
Severe weather doesn’t always announce itself with long-range patterns. Localized, high-impact events like derechos, flash floods, and ice storms often develop quickly and can wreak havoc with little notice.
That’s where Horizon AI HIRES comes in.
This high-resolution model (2 km CONUS domain and 0.67 km optional sub-domains) excels at identifying fast-developing threats—providing accurate forecasts up to 7 days out. Its value was proven repeatedly in 2024:
- Houston Derecho (May 2024): HIRES detected the magnitude of the storm seven hours in advance, compared to other models that underestimated the risk. The event caused massive tree damage and long-duration outages from 100 mph winds. See the case study here.
- Chicago Derecho (July 2024): HIRES delivered a more complete and detailed forecast than HRRR, identifying multiple zones of severe wind gusts and tornado risk, allowing emergency response and utilities to prepare for the hit. See the case study here.
By delivering real-time insights with surgical precision, HIRES supports:
- Asset-level alerting for substations, lines, and transformers
- Storm crew optimization and safe routing
- Real-time grid balancing decisions during severe weather
Horizon AI Point: Forecasting for Critical Infrastructure
Weather doesn’t impact every part of the grid equally. Substations, renewable installations, and transmission lines often sit in microclimates or areas vulnerable to terrain effects. Generic forecasts simply won’t cut it.
Horizon AI Point solves this by delivering hyper-local forecasts at the asset level. The system blends Climavision’s proprietary NWP models with government forecasts, local sensors, and machine learning bias correction to deliver unbeatable accuracy for specific points of interest.
Utilities can use Point Forecasts to:
- Protect grid infrastructure with precise storm timing and intensity
- Schedule maintenance around windows of safe weather
- Fine-tune demand forecasts based on neighborhood-level temperature, humidity, and wind variability
In short: it enables operational foresight down to the pole level.
When Forecasts Are Right, Everyone Wins
Across all three models, Climavision delivers a unified, scalable forecasting approach that lets grid operators take control. Whether it’s anticipating a major hurricane, pinpointing derecho winds, or preparing for flash flooding in a specific district, our tools turn insight into action—and action into resilience.
Reduced downtime. Faster recovery. Improved safety. And better regulatory standing.
Why Acting Now Matters
The reality is simple: the grid is under pressure from both climate extremes and increasing customer expectations. With the rise in renewable integration and decentralized infrastructure, forecasting is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s operationally essential.
Utilities that continue to rely solely on government-issued forecasts risk falling behind. The ones who invest in precision forecasting will lead the future of resilient energy delivery.
Stay Ahead of the Storm
Weather is unpredictable. But your response to it doesn’t have to be.
With Climavision’s Horizon AI suite—Global, HIRES, and Point—utilities gain the lead time, resolution, and accuracy they need to make informed decisions that protect infrastructure, avoid downtime, and keep the lights on when it matters most.
