The National Weather Service in Boulder says it is increasingly confident of a high impact wind event for northern Colorado and the mountains on December 17th.
Downslope winds will create a critical fire hazard and will likely always cause Xcel Energy to shut down power to the area.
As a result, several schools will be closed on December 17th.
High wind warnings, watches and red flag warnings are in effect across much of the state.
The National Weather Service says it expects damaging winds to blow down trees and power lines, widespread power outages and difficult travel, especially for high-profile vehicles.
And any new fire that breaks out under these conditions is likely to lead to rapid fire growth, the warning says.
The NWS advises people to avoid outdoor burning or activities that cause sparks and to secure loose items.
High wind warnings and watches are in effect for the Colorado mountains and northern Colorado counties on December 17, 2025.
What to expect around Fort Collins
The Fort Collins area is under a high wind warning from 11 am until midnight on December 17, with a red flag warning from 11 am until 6 pm
West winds of 30 to 50 mph are expected, with gusts up to 80 mph in the Fort Collins, Boulder and western suburbs of Denver.
The strongest gusts will peak in the 70-85 mph range, with 50-70 mph gusts being relatively widespread, according to the forecast.
-
In the mountains and hills above 9,000 feet, the weather service has high confidence of wind gusts of 75 to 85 mph.
-
In the hills and lower elevations west of Interstate 25, there is an average confidence in gusts of more than 75 mph.
-
Across the plains in the evening, there is a moderate to low confidence in gusts up to 60 mph.
The worst of the wind is expected in the afternoon.
For December 18, weaker winds are expected with the chance for stronger winds down December 19, according to the NWS.
Xcel can cut the electricity in a preventive way: Here is who it can affect
Xcel Energy says it is likely to proactively shut down electricity starting at 10 am on December 17 due to strong winds that increase the risk of damage to power lines and outages.
This affects 50,000 customers in Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties, which is less than originally expected.
However, unplanned outages can also occur due to high winds, Xcel’s website notes.
In Larimer County, Xcel’s service area is mixed, but includes some portions of all its communities, such as Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, Timnath, Laporte, Wellington and Berthoud.
It could take several hours or days to restore power, Xcel said, because crews must examine and/or repair the lines before they can be re-energized.
Xcel said it will make a decision on the closure no later than the morning of December 17th.
Customers can check power status on Xcel’s power outage map.
School closures announced
Xcel serves many schools in the area, and districts have announced closures or alternate schedules.
In the Poudre School District, the following schools will be closed: Bethke Elementary, Timnath Elementary, Timnath Middle-High School, Red Feather Lakes Elementary, Stove Prairie Elementary and Livermore Elementary. All athletics and activities at those schools will also be canceled.
All other PSD schools remain open.
In Weld RE-4, which is the district that covers Windsor and Severance schools, elementary schools will be closed and middle and high schools will operate on an alternate schedule:
-
School will be canceled for students in preschool through fifth grade, and there will be no AlphaBEST programming.
-
Middle schools will release at 11:25 am and high schools will release at 12:10 pm Lunch will be provided on a grab-and-go basis. There will be no practices, activities and events after school.
Colorado State University campuses are not expected to be affected by the Xcel shutdown, according to a social media post from CSU Police & Safety.
Will Fort Collins Utilities or PVREA have preemptive shutoffs?
Other electricity providers in Larimer County are not planning proactive outages. However, one of them said that cuts due to wind damage are still possible.
Municipal utilities serving Fort Collins and Loveland, whose power lines are buried, say they don’t expect any outages. Both get their bulk power from the Platte River Power Authority.
The PRPA is closely monitoring the weather event but does not plan a preemptive shutdown, communications supervisor Maia Jackson told the Coloradoan.
Jackson said the PRPA has a strong vegetation management program so “the risk of our transmission lines causing a fire remains low.”
There are also protection systems set up to monitor transmission line operations and automatically open sections of transmission lines that experience damaging conditions, Jackson said.
Fort Collins Utilities noted that its electrical infrastructure is buried underground and said PRPA’s investments in resiliency means “significantly reduced risk of wind-related disruption.”
City of Loveland Utilities says 87% of its energy infrastructure is underground and the remaining system uses protection measures that reduce the risk of fire damage.
Poudre Valley REA supplies electricity to portions of Larimer and Weld counties, including areas such as Red Feather Lakes, Livermore, Poudre Canyon, Berthoud and Windsor.
The PVREA says it does not anticipate planned outages, but strong winds may cause unexpected outages.
Here are links to select Northern Colorado power outage maps:
The Coloradoan will provide updates as needed on outages.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado weather, wind forecast leads to school closings