Rare weather event causes blackout in Spain, Portugal and parts of France

[Mike S]

Preliminary reports out of Europe about the massive blackout that left millions powerless say the cause may have been something called "induced atmospheric vibration," a rare phenomenon where weather changes affect power lines.

Portuguese energy company REN suggested that "due to extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400 KV), a phenomenon known as 'induced atmospheric vibration,'" according to a BBC.com report.

MSN

This is a new one for me........