What it comes down to is we just need to vanquish this persistent cool ENSO paradigm once and for all...I know some don't feel it's is a factor, but I don't mean ENSO itself....I mean the entire Pacific arena has been in cool ENSO mode for about 8 years. This is why the MJO always seems to skip over phase 8....even the past 1.5 seasons that have been decently cold, where are the big east coast storms?? The tropical forcing has still constantly deconstructively interfered with major east coast cyclogenesis for the most part. That strong El Niño a couple of years back was still left to compete with that residual cool ENSO forcing, which is why it sucked so badly. Even when MJO is in the COD...all that means is defaults to the baseline forcing...which is...take a guess. This is why I don't get people like DT who blow loads over La Niña weakening...it's like having your entire house burning to the ground and breathing a sigh of relief after dumping a bucket of water over the front stairs. His understanding of ENSO is so piss-poor...very reductive in nature.