Been wondering the same thing. Many of the recent events since early Dec that went N of us did so in a way we were 2-300 miles from the action. (which is a world away, I know). Realize from I-81 N and W there's another entire climate at play, especially from mid-PA N in latitude. But in some cases one could see if the setup of the ridges and troughs over the Pac and CONUS was shifted some we could be closer to at least in the game (assuming also the WAR stays out of play). Perhaps wishful thinking here, but the boundary has often been in eastern Ohio diagonally down through western KY and SRN MO. My relatives in SW Ohio have already had multiple 4"+ events, which is a bit rare for them this early.