You're looking way more into it than me. I'll admit I'm just being lazy right now and looping the sfc streamlines, low level RH, and 2m temps and not looking at the synoptics behind it all.
http://mp1.met.psu.edu/~fxg1/ETANE9_12z/etaloop.html
It's the d3 NAM so it's synoptically challenged to begin with. I just wanted to see DIT squirm a little.