I remember reading about the Jan thaw getting muted too and it ended up +10 over a 10 day stretch. But sure, the cold has won out in the extended more often than not for the first 2/3 of winter.
But I don’t think many have been predicting toucans and stunned iguanas. It’s more just a relaxation of the pattern with more snow/ptype threats and more fair weather days above freezing given the latitude gain of the temp gradient.