fuck all

What led to the late Feb 2023 and early Feb 2014 airmasses here?

Yes, and the vast majority of those are during -ENSO/+QBO years. Which is why I’m not writing this winter off up there.

That was another SSW-mediated progression with the retrograding Greenland block. Also Feb 2018, Feb 2019, Jan 2024, and IIRC at least one of the air masses in 2021/22.

Here in Portland I think January 2017 was the best example of maximizing what cold was there. 13" snowstorm on the 10th-11th and the second coldest first half of January on record, only behind 1979. At Hillsboro it was the coldest first 15 days of Jan since 1937!