If the cold block wins the battle next week, I truly believe we are on to something memorable. I've been looking at pattern matching which is apparently a bad habit, but sometimes it works because I use it in my Facebook forecasts with great results. This Winter looks surprisingly identical to 1947. In 1947, the Winter did start earlier in mid-January, however the synoptics leading up to the cold weather are nearly the same as what we are experiencing now.
1947
2014
WINTER IS COMING!!!