High winds have forced intermittent power outages throughout Boulder County Wednesday and the National Weather Service said there have been a “truckload of high wind reports” in the area.
The NWS said there were too many reports to list on its Facebook page, but the agency did include the Top 60, which reached down to 67 mph. The entire list (>55 mph) can be found at this link: https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS.
High winds also prompted the Boulder County Fairgrounds to close its COVID testing site while the Boulder County Courthouse on Pearl Street also closed for the day. Boulder Valley School District’s mountain schools also were shuttered.
Power was out for customers in an area roughly between First Avenue, South Bowen, Quebec Avenue and South Oak Wednesday starting about 11:35 a.m. impacting about 1,600 residents, according to post on the Facebook page for Longmont Power & Communications. Power was restored about 12:05 a.m.
The high winds prompted Longmont’s Department of Public Safety to remind drivers on how to handle intersections with no working traffic lights.
Drivers should treat those intersections as a four way stop, according to a LDPS Facebook post.
Also drivers should:
- Plan ahead. Leave extra time as your drive may take longer due to the need to drive more slowly in high winds.
- Slow your speed to a safe driving speed and turn on headlights to deal with low visibility created by blowing dirt.
- Keep your hands firmly on the wheel.
- Make steering corrections when driving from wind-protected areas to unprotected areas. The wind may suddenly move your car when traveling from a protected to unprotected area.
- Keep a safe distance from other vehicles near you, especially RVs, campers, trucks, buses or trailers being towed.
- Take extra care in a high profile vehicle such as trucks, vans, SUVS, or when towing a trailer, as these are more prone to being pushed or flipped by high winds.
- Tree limbs may break and/or other debris may come loose during strong winds.
- If winds are severe enough to prevent safe driving, pull over into a safe parking area (the shoulder of a busy roadway is not safe) and stop.
