The CFS was an obvious joke, but I agree…the seasonal maps don’t carry a lot of skill so I’m not sure what the purpose of the 6hr maps, out to d30, are for.
The “aging” on was a d10 GFS map. There’s been hints of a front around that time on various op/ens runs. Maybe Hadley puts the block on come verification time.
But agree with your post. The models start sensing that cooler air building in the higher latitudes and rush them into the CONUS prematurely. It seems like once one of those legit across the bow airmasses verifies it’s the green flag into the descent of autumn…notsomuch below normal temps, but at least a higher frequency of transitory airmasses.