This Letter shows that transient changes in convection and precipitation patterns can significantly influence the electromagnetic energy transfer between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere. At the times of the transient events during the 10 January 1997 storm that was produced by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)-related magnetic cloud, the Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar measured the local electrodynamic response of the high-latitude ionosphere. Important discrepancies between the net electrodynamic energy flux and the electromagnetic energy flux estimated for a stationary atmosphere suggest that the assumption of the ionosphere as a purely resistive load is often inadequate during these transient events as neutral winds cannot conform to the new orientation of the electric field and thus impact the load/generator characteristics of the ionosphere. ¿ 1998 American Geophysical Union