From the reports I've seen, it has been unusually warm this winter in Alaska and unusually cold in areas to the south (polar vortex). This would seem to indicate a shift in climatic conditions (maybe the jet stream or something else), which may be short term, or could last for centuries - who knows. My guess is that as cold as it has been in the South this winter, it will probably be a blazing hot summer come around May or June.
Some enterprising pseudo-scientist will probably write a book and get a big fat grant to study this.
The inter of 1973 into 1974 was like this one, only they didn’t call it a ‘polar vortex’ then. But it was warmer in Delta Junction Alaska than it was in the Dayton Ohio area for at least a two week period beginning right after Christmas.
My husband was doing engineering work on helicopters that required very cold temperatures. He was stuck in Alaska waiting for it to get cold enough to do the necessary testing for the project.
Back in the 70s, we had an acquaintance whose sister lived in Juneau.
It was consistently warmer there than in SW WI.