that's why this pattern might not favor snow storms in the northern mid atlantic till those are in place - confidence around here will not be very high if we have 2 misses to the south within the next week and then we get much below normal cold and dry for another week or more - it's when the pattern with the -NAO starts to relax slightly at the end of the month into February as the -EPO and + PNA settles in is probably the most favorable time for east coast snow storms and would match perfectly climatology the January 20th - February 11th period so patience is the key IMO.