Recording at the Scene of the Northeast Blackout of 2003

Tomorrow marks the 21st anniversary of the history-making cascading power failure that put much of the northeast United States and parts of Ontario, Canada in the dark. On August 14, 2003, a series of events occurred that switched off the lights for much of the eastern seaboard. High afternoon temperatures that day in much of the region lead to an increased energy demand on the power grid. This caused power lines to sag, some of which came in contact, or flashed, with overgrown trees below.

I happen to live close to one of the locations where trees and power lines fatefully met that day. Armed with a pair of induction coil microphones and a high-end sound recorder, I wanted to hear how the power line sounds today. It, and several others, are included in my sound effects library Electromagnetic Fields.

Capturing the sound of the electromagnetic field emanating from multiple 345kV overhead power transmission lines in Walton Hills, Ohio on Thursday, January 11, 2024. On August 14, 2003, approximate 120 feet northwest of this location, these lines, sagging by strain put upon them by power-hungry air conditioners and other appliances, flashed over to overgrown trees, thus contributing to a cascading power failure that shut down the electricity grid for much of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Capturing the sound of the electromagnetic field emanating from multiple 345kV overhead power transmission lines in Walton Hills, Ohio on Thursday, January 11, 2024. On August 14, 2003, approximate 120 feet northwest of this location, these lines, sagging by strain put upon them by power-hungry air conditioners and other appliances, flashed over to overgrown trees, contributing to a cascading power failure that shut down the electricity grid for much of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Photo by Richard Alan Hannon
Read more: Recording at the Scene of the Northeast Blackout of 2003

I imagine the 345-kV power line I was standing below made a substantial sizzle, bang and pop before falling silent at 3:32:03 p.m on the day of the tree strike. When I recorded EMF emanating from it on January 11, 2024, it was humming along like normal.

Recording Location

Below is my recording position for capturing the sound of the electromagnetic field emanating from multiple 345kV overhead power transmission lines in Walton Hills, Ohio on Thursday, January 11, 2024. The Juniper substation can be seen at the top of this Google satellite image screenshot.

Recording position for capturing the sound of the electromagnetic field emanating from multiple 345kV overhead power transmission lines in Walton Hills, Ohio on Thursday, January 11, 2024. On August 14, 2003, approximate 120 feet northwest of this location, these lines, sagging by strain put upon them by power-hungry air conditioners and other appliances, flashed over to overgrown trees, thus contributing to a cascading power failure that shut down the electricity grid for much of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. The Juniper substation can be seen at the top of this Google satellite image screenshot.

Listen to the Sound of Overhead Power Lines

At 1:26 in the Soundcloud preview below, listen to a series of six overhead power lines recorded for my EMF library. They are simple hums, but sound different according to the power flowing through them and the weather conditions at the time of recording.

Further Reading

  • This video by Practical Engineering goes into great detail about the 20003 Blackout, including a demonstration of how a transmission power line sags as it heats up. Practical Engineering has a ton of fantastically produced and informative videos. You really should explore them.
  • The New York Times put together this informative video.
  • Here is Thomas Overbye’s March 4, 2011 lecture entitled The Genesis of the August 14th 2003 Blackout: The Grid, Math, Humans, and Trees. Overbye was a professor at the University of Illinois at the time.
  • Chapter 5 of the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission’s Final Blackout report can be found here.
  • Here is the July 13, 2004 technical analysis put out by the North American Electrical Reliability Council (NERC).
  • From MIT, a paper by Brooke Kahl and Steven Vasovski.
  • A paper from George Mason University.

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