Dagger Inserted into Hopes of Next Week's Storm for Most Folks?

It certainly looks that way. I mentioned yesterday how it looked like the pattern across the north (Canada) had trended less favorable, and that has continued today as well. Basically the flow is moving along enough to prevent sufficient "blocking" (which is the mechanism to trap cold air in the East and force an incoming storm to redevelop along the coast) for a winter storm to form. So it looks like the overall trend of this la nina-like winter will continue in this regard. This doesn't remove New England (probably interior) from the equation yet, but certainly farther south, this pattern just is not wanting to be kind to winter lovers.

What's next? Well, the bias of the pattern looks to be on the colder than normal side for many areas outside of the Rockies and the South from next week through probably the end of the month or even into early March as North Atlantic blocking may persist, and Pacific pattern stays favorable for colder systems to dive southeast out of western Canada, so the book certainly isn't closed on winter yet, but of course it is getting into its final chapters. At least with what looks like an abundance of storms tracking from west to east, there is still the hope that one will "connect", but in this year's pattern, it's going to have to "thread the needle", so to speak.