Front Range Situation Report | 08.13.2025
Your Weekly Forward-Looking Intelligence Brief from The CP Journal's Watch Office
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
Here are the highlights of the week ahead. Scroll down for a deeper analysis and the sources of information. Remember: this report is intended for situational awareness, and readers should validate any information before acting.
🌡️Weather: The Front Range will see a hot start to the week, followed by increasing storm activity toward the weekend, then a brief drying trend early next week. Expect mid-90s heat and mostly dry conditions through Thursday, shifting to scattered thunderstorms Friday and Saturday that could bring locally heavy rain. No major warnings are active at this time, but stay alert for elevated fire danger mid-week and isolated flooding risks in thunderstorms late-week.
🏈Safety & Security: The Front Range faces a moderate public safety outlook this week. There are no imminent or specific threats known, but several factors warrant caution. Upcoming protests and large events from Denver to Colorado Springs will raise public visibility and could invite opportunistic disruptions or isolated security incidents. Recent crime patterns (such as the weekend shootings) are concerning but appear routine in nature, not indicative of a broader escalation
🦟Health & Medical: The Colorado Front Range faces a moderate public health outlook this week. No acute public health emergencies are occuring, but key issues include rising West Nile virus risk (with active mosquito-borne transmission and the second fatality of the year), an uptick in COVID-19, and ongoing air quality concerns from wildfire smoke and ozone.
👀Cybersecurity: Cyber threat activity remains heightened nationwide, with federal authorities urging continued vigilance amid state-sponsored hacking alerts and active ransomware operations. While no acute local threats are known at present, there continues to be the steady background threat of ransomware and data breaches observed nationwide, warranting consistent network monitoring and user security awareness.
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In-Depth Analysis
Weather | Risk Level: Elevated & ↑
🥵Official 7‑Day Outlook
Here are your detailed forecasts: Area Forecast, Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins
Above-Normal Heat Mid-Week: The National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts a return to above-normal heat Wednesday and Thursday, with daytime highs soaring into the mid/upper 90s °F across lower elevations of the I-25 corridor. .
Increasing Thunderstorm Chances Late Week: By Friday and Saturday, monsoonal moisture is expected to increase over the Front Range. Scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms become more likely region-wide, bringing a higher potential for meaningful rainfall.
Drier Early Next Week: Conditions should begin to dry out by Sunday into Monday, with storm coverage decreasing as high pressure rebuilds. Early next week will likely see a return to mostly sunny, warm days (highs around the low 90s °F) and only isolated thunderstorm chances each afternoon.
Watches & Warnings
Hazardous Weather Outlook in Effect: NWS Hazardous Weather Outlooks (HWO) highlight the main hazards this week. No widespread weather warnings are currently posted, but the HWO notes the mid-week heat and the late-week thunderstorm uptick.
Monitor for fire weather concerns during the hot, dry mid-week period and for localized flood potential by Friday–Saturday if storms produce heavy rainfall, especially in vulnerable areas like recent burn scars (no formal watches yet, but conditions bear watching).
Drought Status: Longer-term hazards persist in the form of drought. Much of Colorado remains under drought conditions, and the recent hot, rain-sparse pattern has led to expansion of drought in parts of the state. While eastern Colorado saw near-average precipitation earlier in the summer, the Front Range is trending drier; drought monitors indicate below-normal soil moisture and streamflows, particularly west of the Continental Divide, with drought likely to continue or worsen through August.
🌡️Looking Ahead
Persistent Warmth Likely: Longer-range forecasts from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) favor continued warmer-than-normal conditions for Colorado through late August into early September.
Below-Normal Precipitation Trend: The 30-day outlook leans drier than normal for the Front Range region. CPC seasonal projections indicate that Colorado and neighboring High Plains states have elevated odds of below-average rainfall through the next few weeks. Drought conditions may therefore persist or intensify, and water conservation and wildfire vigilance will remain priority concerns.
🔥Anniversaries
Cameron Peak Fire: Beginning on August 13, 2020, the Cameron Peak Fire ignited in Larimer County before becoming the largest wildfire in Colorado’s recorded history. The fire burned approximately 208,000 acres over 112 days. While no direct fatalities occurred during the fire, it destroyed hundreds of structures and its burn scar later experienced deadly flash floods in 2021–2022.
Safety & Security | Risk Level: Moderate & →
🇵🇸Week-Ahead Protests, Rallies, and Possible Threats
“Break the Siege” Pro-Palestine Rally (Denver): On Thursday, August 14, hundreds of activists are expected to rally downtown at 707 17th Street at 12:30 p.m. to protest the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Recurring Friday Protests (Northglenn): Progressive constituents continue to gather every Friday at 11 a.m. outside U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans’s district office in Northglenn (10701 Melody Dr.) to demand dialogue over his hardline immigration stance. These weekly pickets – now organized by Indivisible (a national activist network) – have been peaceful but persistent, even attracting high-profile visitors like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during a March stop.
🏈Long-Range and Routine Upcoming Events
Sports: The Denver Broncos will host the Arizona Cardinals at Empower Field (Mile High Stadium) on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 16. The Colorado Rockies face the Arizona Diamondbacks in a four-game home series at Coors Field from Thursday, Aug. 14, through Sunday, Aug. 17. The Colorado Rapids soccer club play Atlanta United FC on Sat. Aug. 16 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City).
Chicano Moratorium March: Activist groups plan a large rally and march on Friday, Aug. 29 to mark 55 years since the 1970 Chicano Moratorium protests against the Vietnam War. The Denver event will begin 6 p.m. at the State Capitol’s west steps.
9/11 Anniversary Vigilance: The 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is approaching, and while no specific threats are reported in Colorado, federal authorities typically urge heightened vigilance around this date. The latest DHS threat bulletin (in effect through Sept. 22) notes that “multiple recent terrorist attacks have been motivated by extremist ideologies” and warns that foreign conflicts (e.g., Iran or Israel-related tensions) could inspire homegrown violence.
National Safety & Security Expo (NSC Congress): Beginning on Sept. 12, thousands of law enforcement, fire/EMS, and emergency management professionals will be at the Convention Center.
🔫Significant Incidents
Multiple Shootings in Denver/Aurora: Over the past weekend, the Denver metro saw three separate shooting incidents that left one person dead and at least five others wounded. Early Sunday, an overnight shooting in downtown Denver (19th & Little Raven) injured one victim, followed two hours later by a triple-shooting near 6th Ave. & Knox that hospitalized three people with non-life-threatening injuries. Around the same time in Aurora, an apparent domestic dispute escalated into a double shooting at an apartment on Cimarron Circle, killing a 26-year-old woman and critically wounding a second victim.
Double Homicide in Colorado Springs: Colorado Springs Police are investigating a shooting that left two people dead inside a residence on the city’s east side this past Sunday afternoon.
Health & Medical | Risk Level: Moderate & ↑
🦟Significant Incidents
The Front Range saw it’s second West Nile Virus death this week. More below.
🦟Disease Outbreak Status
West Nile Virus: Colorado’s second WNV death (both in the Front Range) was reported last week in Arapahoe County. Cases have been reported in 11 counties, 24 people have been sickened, 5 people required hospitalizations, and 2 fatalities in 2025.
Measles: No new cases since an out-of-state resident was identified ~3 weeks ago.
Respiratory Viruses: COVID-19, influenza, and RSV activity remain low; however, wastewater activity for COVID is “High” across the state.
💨Environmental Health
Air Quality: Air quality has been poor at times due to regional wildfire smoke and summer ozone. Multiple Air Quality Health Advisories were issued last week as smoke from wildfires on Colorado’s Western Slope drifted across the state. This week, no Front Range-specific smoke advisories are in effect as of Aug 12, but western Colorado counties (Garfield, Mesa, Rio Blanco, etc.) have ongoing smoke alerts from local fires.
Water Quality: There are no new harmful algal bloom advisories this week in major Front Range water bodies.
💸Looking Ahead
Health Policy & Programs: Colorado is adapting to shifts in public health funding and policy.
Vaccination Campaigns: Unknown. A lack of clear guidance on approved vaccines and fall campaigns prevents a more thorough update.
Cybersecurity | Risk Level: Moderate & →
👩🏽⚖️A Few Past‑Week Cyber Incidents
U.S. Federal Courts Breach: The federal judiciary revealed a sophisticated cyberattack on its case management system, potentially exposing sealed court records in multiple states. The Administrative Office of U.S. Courts said it has shut down affected systems after detecting persistent intrusion activity.
Microsoft SharePoint Zero‑Day Spree: Over 400 organizations – including U.S. government agencies (Energy, Homeland Security, HHS) and California’s electric grid operator – were compromised via two newly discovered SharePoint software zero-day flaws. Microsoft reported Chinese state-linked hacker groups exploited these vulnerabilities in July, with one group deploying ransomware on government networks.
Google Ads Data Breach: Google confirmed a breach of one of its Salesforce cloud databases holding Google Ads customer leads, exposing business contact info (names, phone numbers, notes) of prospective advertisers. The ShinyHunters hacker group claims it stole ~2.55 million records and attempted to extort Google for 20 Bitcoin (≈$2.3M), though Google says no ransom was paid.
🎓Current Threats
Ransomware Campaigns: Federal agencies issued a #StopRansomware advisory for the emerging “InterLock” ransomware, which has hit U.S. organizations as recently as June 2025. The FBI and CISA provided technical details and indicators of compromise for InterLock, urging all sectors to patch vulnerabilities and enforce offline backups.
Exchange Server Vulnerability: A high-severity flaw in on-premises Microsoft Exchange email servers, disclosed at Black Hat, poses a “grave risk” to organizations using hybrid Exchange configurations if unpatched. CISA issued an emergency directive requiring federal agencies to apply Microsoft’s fixes and remove unsupported servers by Aug. 11.
K–12 Cyber Awareness (Back-to-School): As schools reopen across Southern California in late August, authorities are highlighting a 30-day heightened cyber threat window. Historically, the new school year brings a surge in phishing and ransomware targeting school districts, parents, and students.
ℹ️Looking Ahead
Cyber Info-Sharing Law Sunset: The federal Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 is set to expire on September 30, 2025, unless Congress renews it. This law facilitates threat intelligence sharing between government and industry (including K-12 schools). Its lapse could leave school districts and local agencies with reduced early warning about cyber threats, at a time when attacks on the education sector are rising (23% increase in ransomware on schools in H1 2025 vs H1 2024). There are bipartisan efforts in Congress to extend the law.
Cyber Firewall Upgrades: New York State’s recent “Firewall Against Cyberattacks” initiative (signed Aug 4) requires all municipal corporations and public authorities to report cybersecurity incidents to the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services within 72 hours and to provide notice of any ransomware payment within 24 hours.
🪱Anniversaries
Zotob Worm: On August 16, 2005, major U.S. media outlets (CNN, ABC News, The New York Times) were hit by the Zotob worm, which exploited a Windows 2000 Plug-and-Play flaw. Infected systems rebooted repeatedly, disrupting newsroom operations.
Shamoon Malware: On August 15, 2012, the Shamoon virus was unleashed on Saudi Aramco, wiping data on about 30,000 company workstations and disrupting the world’s largest oil producer for more than a week. A hacktivist group claimed responsibility, and the attack – one of the most destructive corporate cyber incidents to date – exposed the reality of malware capable of destroying critical infrastructure data.