How to Stay Safe in Cold Weather

View National Weather Service Forecast

• Dress in layers to stay warm, wear a hat and cover skin. Watch for signs of frostbite and hypothermia.
• Limit time outside and check on your neighbors.
• Bring your pets inside when the temperatures dip. Learn more about how to keep your dogs safe during winter.

When arctic air hits, water freezes, and as it freezes, it expands, causing pipes to burst and possibly flood.

Pipes that freeze most frequently are those that are exposed to severe cold. Here are some tips to help prevent frozen pipes before the temperatures plummet.

• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove or portable space heater.
• Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.
• Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms at least once a month.

Boulder Shelter for the Homeless (BSH), located at 4869 Broadway, will be open for critical weather nights on Wednesday, Dec. 21 and Thursday, Dec. 22. The shelter will also remain open all-day Thursday, Dec. 22 and Friday, Dec. 23 for those who stayed overnight. BSH will continue to monitor the forecast to determine if additional days or nights qualify as critical weather and will expand services as needed.

During critical weather conditions, BSH provides 20 additional beds and remains open during the day. Through city support, 30 additional beds are available each night from mid-November through March. Due to the dangerous temperatures predicted this week, BSH and the city have secured accommodations for an additional 12 individuals bringing their total sheltering capacity for this week to 222. There is also additional overflow at the Lodge and the Source for homeless youth.

Additional sheltering options include:

• The Lodge at Mother House for persons identifying as women, transgender or nonbinary. Learn more on Mother House’s website or call 720-579-1637.

• TGTHR’s The Source for homeless youth. Learn more on TGTHR’s website or call 303-447-1207.

The partner organizations who support and shelter unhoused individuals in our community have worked with the city to develop plans for extremely cold weather. The critical weather plan includes direct outreach to people experiencing homelessness to ensure all individuals are aware of the upcoming cold weather and available services. Outreach workers began this approach last week and will continue during this week.

You can find a list of available services on the city’s website. If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to Boulder Shelter for the Homeless directly.

The City of Boulder, in partnership with Boulder County and the Boulder Office of Emergency Management, will open a 24-hour emergency warming center at the East Boulder Community Center, located at 5660 Sioux Dr. Boulder CO, from 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21 through the morning of Saturday, Dec. 24. This center will be open to anyone in need of a space to get warm or spend the night.

Community members who cannot use Boulder Shelter for the Homeless or other sheltering options are encouraged to access the 24-hour warming center at the East Boulder Community Center. Beds, blankets and food will be available at this center. During this emergency, well behaved pets will be welcomed at the warming center. City and county partners are working to develop transportation pick-up points for those who need assistance accessing the East Boulder Community Center.

For more information about Homelessness Services in the City of Boulder, visit the city’s website. For more information about the emergency warming center, visit the city’s newsroom.

• Check out the City of Boulder winter guide for a full round-up of information about winter in the city.
• Learn about preparing for emergencies in Boulder.