Extreme Weather: Major Spring Snowstorm Leaves 210,000 Denver Homes With Power Outages

Extreme Weather: Major Spring Snowstorm Leaves 210,000 Denver Homes With Power Outages

Around 210,000 people in the Denver area were without electricity Saturday after a major snowstorm. Power lines were hit by falling tree limbs from the snow.

In a case of "weather whiplash," snow fell late Friday and Saturday with temperatures of 33 degrees after high-80s temperatures on Thursday.

Cripple Creek, a small community near Pike’s Peak, got 20 inches of snow from the storm.

"While crews have been making significant progress in restoring service, the significant damage means that work will continue through the weekend," according to a news release from Xcel Energy company.


An Xcel Energy spokesperson said that it had more than 1,200 crews out working to fix the electricity. The energy company said Sunday that it was able to restore power to 180,000 but about 24,000 still do not have power, according to Xcel’s outage map.

"We know losing power is hard, and we thank our customers for their patience and support of our crews as they work to get the lights back on for everyone," the release said.

"When it comes to restoring power, top priority is given to situations that threaten public safety, such as live downed wires. Crews will then prioritize repairs based on which work will restore power to the largest number of customers most quickly, such as transmission lines or feeder lines that serve a large number of customers,” the company said.

In December, the region faced power outages due to wind gusts.