I agree with much of what you said but I don’t know about this:
“Right now the pattern doesn't look great moving forward like it did a couple days ago.”
I’m not saying it necessarily looks “great” now but i don’t think it looked “great” a few days ago either. I think it still looks pretty similar to how it looked a few days ago in the SE (we’re not in the Midwest)….not “great” but pretty darn good for a pattern leaning BN temperaturewise in the SE and like night and day vs last month.
In summary, the SE was never forecasted to have an “A” pattern, but more like a “B” and that “B” still appears likely. It is hard to object to a “B” after having F minus minus December through yesterday. A “B” in the coldest month of the year would be more than fine with me. And for those of you in areas (unlike here) that get wintry precip from time to time in normal winters (the vast majority of the board), it looks promising for more opportunities. I just want it to be cool to cold dominated, which is winter enough for me.