I'm less than an amateur - admittedly, beyond looking at models faithfully, I then resort to my climo and intuition. To me, several days ago when the maps were really pretty for the Wednesday PM - Friday deal, my concern was the precip would be suppressed and weaker simply because we didn't have a strong vort attacking it. If something is weak and coming in waves, it's much easier for the cold press to shred, weaken, suppress. And I was only throwing out a question/caution because I've seen it happen a "few" times over the years. Doesn't mean it won't snow, I was just expressing/asking something that looked like a red flag to me.
I was convinced that this past Sunday would be far less than the 4-7" that models and others were painting. I ended up with less than 2" of slop. I was convinced a couple of weeks ago that a storm that was modeled and forecasted to give me 3-5" would bust, and I got nada. Honestly, Nut, you've said this many times - in truth, it's easy to say it won't snow because history is definitely on the side of those who say it won't, but I really try to limit my questions/concerns to situations that warrant them. That usually works out really well for me. But again - it's not really super scientific - it's more of an understanding of history, climo, and how systems have interacted with each other in the past.
This site is a GREAT place to learn. I have my met textbooks on my bookshelf that I still read, but that info pales to what one can learn here.
I enjoy it, guys.