I think RainCold mentioned this earlier. In past years we've had similar patterns where we get a lot of cold air that works against us by suppressing anything from giving us a decent storm (outside of extreme southern and coastal areas). But even when this happens, there's usually the threat of a clipper or three barreling down from Alberta that threatens to throw down an inch or two. They almost never work out on our side of the mountains, but still---it's usually something to track just as a possibility.
There hasn't been a single mention of clippers yet in this rather suppressed pattern. Is there something different about this pattern compared to previous years, or are they just not being modeled yet?