But in December 2018, we had a monster wave from the Pacific that models had spotted 10 days out, which crashed into Southern California. That one was oddly predictable and consistent. Most of our storms, which are wishy-washy and hard to predict because they come down the Idaho stovepipe, require precise timing and amplification.
If I had a nickel for every time the GFS overamplified and dropped a paste bomb, I would have a lot of nickels. If I had a nickel for the amount of time that those solutions verified, I would be a broke man. I am a weenie, so I'm going to stalk out the Euro and GDPS runs, but I sadly think December 2018 is a false comparison.
Although anything is possible with a 50/50 low and a +PNA. So who knows.