Colorado weather continues to play tricks on its residents in the southern part of the state, with snowfall on the forecast for the next two days while unseasonably warm temperatures remain for Wednesday.

According to the National Weather Service’s office in Pueblo, snow showers across southern Colorado are “likely” for Thursday and Friday. In Colorado Springs, the highest chance for precipitation is 90%, which the Weather Service is forecasting for Thursday night.

The Weather Service is implementing winter storm watches starting Thursday afternoon until Friday evening for the following counties: northern El Paso, Huerfano and Las Animas.

Forecasts are showing Thursday will have the most snow, with 2-4 inches possible in the evening.

Though snow totals could still change as the weather system develops because there is still some uncertainty about how strong the incoming storm will be, the Weather Service said in a social media post.

The snowstorm will “most likely” impact Thursday evening and Friday morning commutes, especially in the southeast mountains and plains, according to the Weather Service.

More locally, Meteorologist Alan Rose of Gazette news partner KOAA said Friday’s morning commute could be “pretty nasty,” as the winds and low temperatures turn the roads icy.

Meteorologists are expecting the heaviest snowfall in El Paso County to be in the north, near Monument Hill on Interstate 25.

Come Friday night, Rose said skies will likely dry out, and temperatures will drop to the single digits and teens.

Warm temperatures expected to return

Even if measurable snow amounts do touch down, above-average temperatures are forecast to return for Colorado Springs during the weekend, according to the Weather Service.

On Saturday, highs are forecast to be around 41 degrees, which is about 10 degrees above the average for January. Temperatures are expected to rise to around 51 degrees all the way to Tuesday, according to the Weather Service’s forecast.

What’s the deal with these temperatures?

While some cities across the country are seeing more than 400% their average snowfall, according to reporting from Fox News, southern Colorado has seen a drawn-out fall that’s poured over into the winter.

For most of December, temperatures were above average, topping out in the 60s and even 70s for some areas in the southern half of the state. December 2025 broke records as the warmest since 1983, but yearly totals are on par with historic averages in Colorado Springs, despite making the “top 10 warmest years” list.

Weather Service Meteorologist Eric Petersen said the unseasonably high temperatures are normal, but December’s “extreme warmth” was “unusually long.”

“We do get these extreme temperatures every now and then for this time of year, but it’s usually not as long,” he said.

He credits it to a La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which he says tends to make the climate in southern Colorado warmer and drier, while favoring colder, snowier conditions in the northern mountains.

A La Niña is a periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific, according to the Weather Service’s website. It typically occurs every three to five years but can happen over successive years.

The effects of a La Niña impact the entire globe and are typically strongest during the winter for the United States, according to the webpage.

The La Niña causes colder and stormier than average conditions in the northern parts of the country, and warmer and less stormier conditions across the southern parts.