Researchers from the Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario led by Professor David Thomson found out that solar flares (or violent explosions in the sun’s atmosphere) play a large part in causing dropped cellphone calls.

TheStar.com reports:

The problem is caused by solar flares – the fiery storms on the sun’s surface that create the Northern Lights effect. Thomson and his team found that during solar flares, phones routed through cellphone towers with antennas facing the sun had higher rates of dropped calls. The rate could be as high as nine per cent, calculated during one morning rush hour in the U.S. Midwest. This connection between the sun and dropped calls, says Thomson, explains why the number of dropped calls increase in the summer compared to winter.

Now, network carriers have another one more reason why your calls are being dropped unexpectedly.  Just don’t blame it on the rain. Blame it on the sun!