Todays Forecast:Pack all the layers this morning out the door. Bitterly cold arctic air has settled over southern Colorado with wind chills below zero in spots this morning. Areas of freezing fog are also present - generally in parts of the Pueblo area and Arkansas River Valley. If you're in, or traveling to/through Pueblo this morning, be prepared for pockets of fog and spotty black ice. Light downslope flow will be in place today with winds locally out of the west. As a result, fog should clear quickly after sunrise and should be gone by the end of the morning commute.Temperatures will also end up warmer today than yesterday - due to a combination of downslope flow, more sun, and weak high pressure. All of that will only be enough though to warm highs to the mid 30s for most of the area - still below average. Colorado Springs forecast: High: 36; Low: 15. Mostly sunny - but cold. Arctic dry air in place - remember to drink plenty of water today, you'll lose it quickly due to the dry air. Highs in the mid 30s across the region, wind chills will shave 5 degrees off of those highs for how it feels outside. Still, technically a 10 degree warm up from yesterday. Pueblo forecast: High: 37; Low: 13. Fog early dissipating by 9:00 AM with areas of lingering low clouds generally east of I-25 through 11:00AM. Then, mostly sunny and cold with west winds at 5-10 mph. Canon City forecast: High: 40; Low: 18. Certainly a better day than Tuesday, and one of the nicer spots to be at in southern Colorado today. Sunny skies all day with highs climbing to near 40 thanks to weak downslope southwest winds at 5-10 mph. Expect snow covered road conditions to improve by early afternoon. Woodland Park forecast: High: 35; Low: 11. Sunny and cold, with southwest winds at 5-10 mph. Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 30s; Low: Teens. Patchy morning fog dissipating quickly after sunrise with mainly sunny skies all day. High clouds increase again around 7:00 PM tonight. Plains forecast: High: 30s; Low: 10-15. Sunny - a few icy patches remaining on roadways - and a bit warmer than yesterday! Southwest winds at 5-10 mph. Partly cloudy skies this evening, clouds should return at 8:00 PM. Bundle up!Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 42/40; Low: 16. Sunny with a nice warm up compared to Tuesday due to light downslope southwest winds at 5-10 mph. Mountains forecast: High: 30s; Low: 10s. Sunny and cold with highs in the low 30s, southwest winds at 10-15 mph, most notable on westerly facing ridgelines, and low easterly slopes. Clouds return late ahead of the next snowmaking system.Extended outlook forecast:A large pattern of weather called the Arctic Oscillation is responsible for the cold and unsettled weather that's been moving through the U.S. in the last week, including here in Colorado. You may have heard the related term "Polar Vortex" before when we've had cold snaps in past years. The Polar Vortex is a large spinning area of cold air typically centered over the arctic. However, sometimes high pressure develops over the north pole. The Arctic Oscillation refers to wobbles between unusually high and unusually low pressure in the arctic. Currently, with high pressure in the arctic, cold air is being shoved south - into Colorado. This pattern also disrupts our jet stream, letting warm and cold air mix. Combined the Arctic Oscillation is giving us the cold arctic air, and the mixing of warm and cold air is creating storm systems thart are bringing us snow.This pattern remains the same through around the middle of the month, with indications for another dip in the "AO index" in a couple of weeks. Therefore, you can expect more cold and unsettled weather for the next week, followed by a calmer more seasonable period in the middle of the month, followed by another, shorter cold snap later this month.Thursday brings the next weak storm to southern Colorado. The best snow chances are over the Palmer Divide, Teller county, east plains, and southern mountains. Light snow moves in north to south through the morning along with gusty breezes. Snow will be light, but breezes of 30-40 mph will blow around any snow that does fall. Timing favors morning breezes and snow over the Palmer Divide, mid-day snow showers and flurries region wide with continued breezes, with breezes and snow showers wrapping up by dinnertime Thursday night. Accumulations will be very low in the Pikes Peak Region with a couple of inches over the Palmer Divide, Woodland Park, and the southern mountains.Expect a slight warming trend Friday and Saturday. Highs in the 30s Friday, and low 40s Saturday. Another weak snowstorm will arrive Saturday afternoon along with yet another arctic cold front. I don't see a lot of upslope flow with this system locally. With this set up, the southern mountains are most favored. Highs Sunday and Monday are back to the low 30s.____Curious about the First Alert 5 Weather Storm Impact Scale? Check out our cheatsheet explainer.Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.