I will say this, the never ending NAO has prevented torch fest but the meh at best Pacific has prevented any Arctic invasion. We got a favorable Pacific briefly around Christmas and it got cold for all and snowy for a lot of us. I also have noticed as I am sure we all have, the models keep pushing for the SE ridge to return and have almost all winter in the long range but when it comes time, it never quite materializes. But because the Pac isn't favorable we have too much warm air to quite stay frozen with most systems. The best case scenario for us is a suppressed track driven by a cooperative NAO/AO/Pacific and we get over running slider events that snow from Arkansas to North Carolina. Other ways are that massive cold bulge coming east enough to keep us on the cold side while systems form on it because of the SE ridge. It's a fine line but when you get that Arctic air lucking nearby you have to start watching for ice events, especially from the Plateau and westward. SE ridge + frigid Midwest is a setup where it's raining and 50 in the Tri-Cities and 28 and freezing rain in Memphis at times. You just never know where the front will stall, but stalling against the Apps is somewhat common in that scenario.