The 2003 Blackout that hit the northeastern United States will go down in history as one of the worst blackouts in America. Take a moment to think where you were when it happened, as we remember the anniversary of those days.

New York City Skyline During the 2013 Blackout
(Photo by Robert Giroux/Getty Images)
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It was just like any other day, no weird eerie feelings in the air, no sign of issues... just a normal day. But just after 4pm on August 14, 2003 a major power outage hit the northeastern part of the US, parts of the Midwest, and Ontario. According to the Huffington Post,

...more than 50 million people lost power during the great Northeast Blackout of 2003. An aging electrical grid, a series of technology flaws and a few overgrown trees led to a cascading series of outages...

I remember thinking it was just our area that went out, that it was just something small and would be fixed in an hour or so. But as the day went on, I heard reports (thanks to radio) of how the power was out in New York, Canada, Ohio, and tons of places across the northeast and Midwest.

I remember being without power for about three days. We tried to make the blackout fun by camping out in our house - playing cards by candlelight, making sandwiches (with all our food being in a little camping cooler full of ice). It was such a weird time, I'll never forget it. The biggest thing to me was how quiet it was for those days - it was like the Earth was standing still.

Friday, August 14th marks the 12 year anniversary when everything went dark. Where were you when the power went out? Did you think it was something small, or did you know it was a huge blackout? What did you do for those days without power?

 

 

 

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