Op-Ed: The Changing Winds of Colorado

This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

Featured Photo by Jamie Lammers: a pile of trees, April 2026, removed after a windstorm in March

My parents and I have heard stories of people leaving Colorado because they couldn’t take the wind anymore. We’ve always been able to keep our heads in heavy winds, but we’ve never seen anything like this.

Yes, we’ve seen intense winds. Yes, they’ve shaken the house and knocked down trees. Yes, they’ve cut power for hours on end. This winter felt far different.

In mid-December, Xcel Energy implemented a Public Safety Power Shutdown during intense winds. In the foothills of Coal Creek, my parents and I, United Power consumers, huddled outside the outage zone.

However, the winds ultimately hit us, too, resulting in a full power outage that lasted through the night. Our service and internet stayed down into the next day.

Already living somewhat isolated from larger Colorado towns, we had to ride out the storm with no connection to the outside world. My parents have owned this house since 1987. They’ve never experienced a power outage longer than a few hours, and we’ve never had service and internet down at the same time.

On March 12th and 13th, harsh winds hitting speeds above 60 mph took our power down again. It uprooted trees in our yard and beyond, crushed our mailboxes, and killed our power for over 24 hours. The previous record-breaking power outage in December lasted 19 hours.

Taken by Jamie Lammers: a tree knocked over by the wind outside his home in March.

We were more prepared this time, making sure we had a spare supply of water as the winds picked up. Once again, we had to ride it out, cloistered together in the mountains.

Somehow, we got lucky with the wind speed. Buckeye, Rocky Flats, and Nederland (my home away from home) experienced winds whipping at speeds as high as 94 mph.

Outside of my mountain home, the winds delayed hundreds of flights and shut down several highways. Soon after, Xcel announced that up to 18,000 customers had been left without power from 4 p.m. on March 14th.

The dry winter Colorado is experiencing has only made these even more problematic. Wind supplies oxygen and carries heat to already dry places, removing even more moisture and increasing fire danger.

The City of Boulder temporarily closed trails and open space west of U.S. 36 following March’s power shutdown. A couple of weeks into spring, red flag warnings and weather warnings are still being placed in Colorado.

As a lifelong Colorado resident, I’m concerned about the lack of snow this winter. Our average snowpack continues to decrease, and the days sprinkled with snowfall this year are vastly outnumbered by the days when not a single snowflake landed.

Xcel has said they do not implement shutoffs lightly, considering them a last resort. Given that they implemented two this winter, in a span of four months, we should recognize the concerns raised by our current conditions. Next winter, which will matter more for our community: power or protection?

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