I guess I just like actual winter weather. Hard to whine about an event like that IMO.

Be that as it may, it's still a bit down on my list of favorite winters. I lived in a decent area for that one too. Just not enough cold and no sunny / cold days with snow on the ground. The whole thing was pretty gloomy. If I had lived in Whatcom County I would have liked it more of course. The December snow was very impressive though.

I get the pessimism. Believe me. But I'm trying to look for reasons to be optimistic. Maybe it will work out, maybe it won't. Here's a stat for December 2024 in Chicago. Counting today, 18 of the 31 days will be warmer than average. Out of the 13 days that were colder than average, the longest streak was only 6 days. I think a majority of the days in January will be average to colder than average, which would be an improvement over December and it's during a period of time when the daily averages are lower. The longer that the cold stays around, the more likely it is that the precip that does occur would be in the form of snow. If it's a modestly drier than average month, that can still work out pretty well snowfall wise if most of the precip comes as snow. Obviously a bone dry month would be a bigger problem.

Thats all from airport north of city several miles. My coop data is almost 1 inch more liquid (melted) and 6 more inches of snowfall, 5.5 miles sse.

Yes Model watching is a disease and its for people that know the next run will be different but we get to discuss it with the same minded people even knowing it will be different, But Here we are