I would think the way this is going now would be hope that low gets as far east as we can get it and as strong as can be and hope it can drag in some cold on the back.
And I think next weekend is still in play. Not sure on the likelihood but if that high scooting off the coast on the gfs can hang in a bit longer it might at least be fun at the start.
They may have been waves on fronts but that winter was COLD. Those fronts were colder chasing cold if my memory serves. We have cooler chase less cool right now. We may get a wave but it still may be running into air that just isn’t cold.
I agree with this wrt the cold “retreating “ but also the actual ground temp where the cold remains is often over done meaning it gets modeled too warm and warming too fast at longer ranges.