At least 20,800 Boulder County customers are without power as the outage stretches into its third day amid the resurgence of a wind storm that could bring gusts over 100 mph.
As of about 1:30 p.m. Friday, 20,837 customers across the county were without power, including in Boulder, Longmont, Superior, Lafayette and Nederland, according to the utility’s outage map, which only shows outages that Xcel did not plan for. It is unclear how many of the 67,000 outages the utility planned as part of its public safety power stoppage are affecting customers in Boulder County. The total number of outages in the county is likely higher than shown on the outage map.
Winds between 45 and 55 mph are expected, with gusts as high as 85 to 105 mph, according to the National Weather Service, which issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” warning alongside a red flag warning for Boulder County.
Particularly dangerous situations mean any wildfires that start pose a “significant threat to life and property,” according to NWS. This season’s unusually warm and dry weather will persist on Friday, with a high of 66 degrees in Boulder and 67 degrees in Longmont.
Stay home and off the roads, the Boulder Office of Disaster Management asks in a social media post. Debris, tree limbs and power lines will be on the roads on Friday, the post states, posing a hazard to drivers.
If anyone must drive today, the disaster management agency recommends they drive extra slowly, account for more time to get where they’re going, and treat all powerless stoplights as four-way stops, the post states.
Weather conditions will be dangerous throughout the county, but especially west of Broadway in Boulder and along the foothills, according to the office.
The wind-damaged roof of the Climbing Collective in Longmont is seen on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. A National Weather Service red flag warning covers the mountains and foothills along the Front Range from Castle Rock to Fort Collins. (Matthew Jonas/Daily Camera)
Friday’s outage was originally expected to affect 67,000 customers in Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties. By 1:30 p.m., an additional 82,000 customers were already without power across the state, according to the utility.
Boulder County is still recovering from Wednesday’s wind storm, which brought gusts as strong as 100 mph, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Mesa Lab in Boulder.
The Boulder Valley School District canceled classes Friday. The University of Colorado Boulder campus will also close Friday due to high winds and planned outages.
City of Boulder administration offices, recreation offices and the West Age Well Center will be closed on Friday.
The Boulder Office of Disaster Management asked community members to stay home and off the roads Friday, as high winds could cause significant debris in the roads and power outages could impact traffic signals.
At the height of Wednesday’s windstorm, Xcel Energy’s Colorado President Robert Kenney estimated that up to 200,000 customers across the state lost power, he said during a Thursday news conference.
Kenney denied that Xcel’s recent implementation of proactive power outages is tied to the Marshall Fire, a December 2021 wind-driven blaze that destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County. The utility has repeatedly insisted its equipment was not responsible for sparking the fire. Xcel settled a lawsuit over the fire in September, agreeing to pay $640 million to more than 4,000 people and companies affected.
The outages were meant to limit the risk of fires starting on Wednesday, according to Xcel. So far this winter season, Boulder County has gotten little snow and rain this winter season, with highs regularly in the mid-60s across the eastern plains of the county.