The latest local news, weather and high school sports in and around Columbia and Jefferson City

Five days into January usually means sub-freezing temperatures.

One year ago today, the high was only 48 degrees and the low dropped to 25.

Thursday, it felt more like spring in Mid-Missouri with temperatures in the 60's.

And people tried to soak in all of the vitamin D they could.

"It's just been great for us," owner of Ryan Schrimpf Construction, Ryan Schrimpf said.

For Schrimpf this temperature is ideal for his job since he builds homes and relies on good weather.

"Normally we are in coats and gloves and hats and you can't pour concrete and you just can't do ground work," Schrimpf said. "The ground hasn't even been frozen yet this year, so we can just continue to keep working."

But it wasn't all work for Mid-Missouri Thursday.

Usually, come January golf courses are empty, they're like ghost towns, either because its too cold to play or because snow is covering the ground.

But this year seems to be different.

Golfers are out in full force trying to enjoy the weather and are trying to get some last swings in before the weather turns bad.

That was especially true at Railwood Golf Club in Holts Summit.

"It's pretty awesome to get out here and play because we're generally stuck inside watching it snow normally," avid golfer Mike Ousley said.

"Everybody actually likes this better than they do the summer when it's 90 degrees,” Railwood Golf Club General Manager Jim Johnson said. “They just wish the day was longer."

"You're not sweating, just a light jacket on, it's really nice," Ousley said.

And the warm weather is pretty good for business also.

"We get zero in these months usually with the weather, so anything we can get now is a big bonus," Johnson said.

Johnson also said he expects big crowds of golfers hitting the links throughout the weekend.