Joe bustardie (apologies if I have got his name terribly wrong), did an analysis of cold Octobers and their outcomes, and it was 50:50. Some were cold and some were then mild. Which of course means that there is a good chance since the ratio of cold to mild winters is skewed 20:80.
Patterns may change - but the last blocked and cold October (was it 2009 or 2010.), preceded a cold winter, and plenty of snow.
Personally, I am grateful the Atlantic is not raging, and think this is a good omen, as the stat's of probability suggest. The albino effect will be greater this year with a lot of early higher latitude snow cover than for many years. Notable early alpine dump too.
Originally Posted by: BJBlake