I’m not saying we see a March 2012 redux this year, but at the same time I just don’t see any evidence to suggest we see a cold mid-latitudes pattern. Teleconnections look completely unfavorable for the most part, and the MJO ain’t exactly playing ball either. Chicago had its earliest 7 day streak of 50°+ on record this past week (with most of those days being 55°+ and even a few 60s), while the weeklies were forecasting entrenched cold for that timeframe a few weeks beforehand. So color me skeptical that we see an extension of winter linger well into March. In essence, meteorology > modelology