High winds, snow back in the forecast for Boulder County and mountain towns

People in Colorado’s mountain communities and along the Front Range will once again experience strong winds as a cold front hits the state. 

The windstorm comes just a week after similarly strong gusts fueled two fires in Boulder County, one of which destroyed nearly 1,000 buildings. 

Winds are forecast to be between 45 to 65 mph in the Boulder County burn area. Mountain towns will see peak gusts up to 80 mph. 

The wind speed is expected to die down on the Front Range by Tuesday evening. Until then, weather officials are warning that travel could be dangerous, especially in large vehicles that could easily tip over, and in the plains where dust could be blown into the air. The winds also elevate fire conditions in areas where less snow fell. 

Colorado will also see temperatures below freezing and a winter storm once the wind subsides. That will bring snow to some parts of the state.

“We'll see a little bit of light snow behind that into Wednesday night where we're looking at kind of a one to three inches, maybe up to about four inches with that system,” National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Entrekin said.

Xcel Energy said they expect all customers in the Marshall Fire burn area to have  their electricity and gas restored by Tuesday night.