Last update: 6:15 a.m. on March 15, 2024.
As this week’s winter storm came to its end Friday morning, parts of Boulder city limits had accumulated about 18 inches of show, while the county’s higher elevations saw considerably greater amounts, according to estimates from the National Weather Service. The storm prompted widespread power outages and maxed out the capacity of the city’s largest homeless shelter in North Boulder.
According to Xcel Energy spokesperson Michelle Aguayo, as of around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, the utility was dealing with 735 outages impacting more than 28,000 customers systemwide in Colorado, with dozens of outages still reported in the Boulder area.
“The number of customers impacted by outages fluctuates as crews restore service from one outage, and new outages are reported,” Aguayo told Boulder Reporting Lab.
She said crews were working as quickly as possible to safely bring back power. Xcel said it restored power to nearly 43,000 Colorado customers on Thursday, even as tens of thousands remained in the dark.
“We’ve had outages reported on a consistent basis all day, although it’s slowed down in the last hour,” she said late Thursday afternoon. “We will have crews working overnight to continue to address outages.”
The city said it was following standard storm clean-up procedure. Warmer temperatures on Thursday helped slow road accumulation.
“When it snows, our team works 24/7 to keep 400+ miles of roads and 70+ miles of multi-use paths clear and safe for all types of travel,” spokesperson Julia Causa said.
During snow plowing operations, the city prioritizes clearing essential routes such as emergency access roads, major arterial streets and pathways leading to hospitals, schools, transit hubs and critical infrastructure, Causa said. Priority attention is also given to neighborhood streets with steep slopes and multi-use paths for pedestrians and cyclists.
On Wednesday night, 180 people stayed at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, reaching full capacity in the city’s largest adult homeless shelter in North Boulder. According to Andy Schultheiss, a spokesperson for the shelter, no individuals were turned away due to lack of available beds that night. Information regarding Thursday night’s capacity was not yet available.
In response to the winter storm, the shelter increased its total capacity to 180 people from 160 people. It is typically closed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. but remained open during the day on Thursday due to the weather. Changes to the protocol are triggered when forecasts show at least six inches of snow or extremely cold temperatures.
City and county officials did not open a temporary emergency shelter for this week’s storm. Dozens of people stayed at an emergency overflow shelter opened by the city and Boulder County in January 2024, as temperatures dropped to dangerous lows.
In the mountains northeast of Nederland, more than 53 inches of snow accumulated, the highest reported so far, according to the National Weather Service. Boulder County said Caribou Ranch and Mud Lake trailheads are closed with nearly 40 inches of snow.
For those thinking about backcountry skiing this weekend, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center is forecasting “very dangerous avalanche conditions” due to the storm slab in Rocky Mountain National Park, Indian Peaks Wilderness, James Peak Wilderness, Mt. Blue Sky and Pikes Peak.
On Friday, March 15, all City of Boulder and Boulder County offices and facilities will remain closed for the entire day. BVSD schools and facilities will also be closed.