In late January, GFS started showing signs of the beast being unleashed around 10th February. It was very persistent with this, including it’s ensembles to an extent, whilst the other models had no interest. It finally caved in around the 2nd/3rd Feb. Ironically, the period GFS was forecasting to be bitterly cold and snowy ended up being very mild, even spring-like, with temperatures into the mid teens in places.