I don't know if it's a good match analog wise, but this winter is starting to remind me of 2003-04. We had the cold that year, just no significant storms. Lots of nickle & dime events that kept the ground white for long stretches.
I'm starting to think if we do get something (and others have already speculated on this), it's something that will pop up at a short lead time, say inside 84hrs. I dunno, just trying to be patient.