Todays Forecast:Savor the sunshine and embrace today's warmth as big changes are just a few days away! With light downsloping breezes in our forecast on Thursday, temperatures will continue to warm across Southern Colorado. Today's highs will top out in the 40s and 50s on the Plains, with 30s and 40s in the mountains and mountain valleys. Increasing wind tonight will bring some stronger gusts to 40 mph to portions of the I-25 corridor and the southeastern mountains. Colorado Springs forecast: High: 49; Low: 26. Today will be our nicest day of the week and probably the warmest weather that we're going to see for at least the next 7-10 days.Pueblo forecast: High: 52; Low: 21. Enjoy today's warm weather and take advantage of the dry skies by preparing ahead of time for this weekend's Arctic invasion. Canon City forecast: High: 55; Low: 30. Mid 50s and sunshine are going to feel great this afternoon, especially compared to what's coming down the pike this weekend as highs will only warm into the teens and lower 20s. Woodland Park forecast: High: 45; Low: 19. Thursday will be the best day of the week as sunshine and above average temperatures can be expected throughout Teller County this afternoon. Tri-Lakes forecast: High: 40s; Low: 20s. Thanks to abundant sunshine and an incoming ridge of high pressure, Thursday will be really nice in northern El Paso County, with our highs today warming into the 40s. Plains forecast: High: 40s/50s; Low: 20s/30s. Southerly breezes and high pressure will combine to bring us a really nice on the Plains Thursday, with highs today mainly in the 50s and peak wind gusts to 25 mph. Walsenburg and Trinidad forecast: High: 40s/50s; Low: 20s/30s. Mild and moderately gusty for the southern I-25 corridor on Thursday, with SW wind gusts to 35 mph this afternoon. Mountains forecast: High: 30s/40s; Low: 10s/20s. Mild for mid January weather in the mountains on Thursday will give way to increasing wind this afternoon and evening. West and southwest wind gusts to 45 mph will be possible.Extended outlook forecast:Friday will bring a mixed bag of weather for the Pikes Peak Region and Southern Colorado. While the first part of the day will be nice and mild, the second part of the day will be cold and wintry. A potent cold front will sweep across El Paso County during the afternoon and behind that front, it will turn much colder and breezy. Snow is likely to develop Friday evening, with snow at times throughout the day on Saturday. I'm forecasting 2-5" of snow for Colorado Springs, and 4-7" of snow for Monument and Woodland Park. Higher amounts will be possible in the southeastern mountains. The other story will be the cold. Highs this weekend in Colorado Springs will only warm into the teens, with Monday's forecast high of 7 degrees expected to be the coldest part of the cold snap. Overnight lows this weekend will be below zero in the Springs from Saturday night through Monday night.____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.