So right! We came soooo close if not for that pesky warm layer. We need a big dog 12-inch plus so bad! Here's the 12-plus inchers at my location: 1979, 1983, 1987, 1993 (not everywhere), 1996, 2000, 2003, 2006 (not everywhere), 2010, 2014, 2016. Average of once in 3.7 years and no gap longer than 6 years, and now we are sitting at a 10-year gap and counting.
That all said, having a long-lasting snowpack in a Nina is a pretty big deal.