The QBO is a multilayer phenomenon and it can get tedious labeling a certain winter westerly or easterly. I think this is part of the reason why many forecasters sometimes throw the QBO out the door when it comes to preparing seasonal outlooks. Different layers' zonal wind has different effects on the pattern. Most of the time, the situation is more complicated than we think. Below is the data. Keep in mind, labeling something cold in terms of ENSO is a bit subjective. I cross-checked b