[Marine_Uncle]

For the past few days in my area of the NE we had above average temps, bingo. Tonight we get a almost forty degree swing, 32F for the low. Meanwhile at this hour it snows in the mid west extending into the western parts of Pennsylvania. Soon the NE will be blanketed in extended lower temperatures. Weeks on end not getting much above freezing and perhaps in my area seeing close to or new lows set.
As you indicated you folks on the west coast have been seeing lower extended temperature gradients. Lots of snow early on in the season. As you indicated, magnetic field strength wanes, sun activities that are comensurate with colder conditions "globally" due to changes in the upper atmosphere, mid regarding cloud formation due to incoming high energy particle bombardment changing the physics to produce more clouds but within this cycle upcoming to also most probably provide for a other atmospheric phenomena to take place all leading to a global drop in temperatures, we can only hope we are not entering forthcoming ice age.
If it gets to to point where Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Coors Extra Gold start to freeze in the cans or bottles like I experience a gallon jug of wine many years back when strolling down a country road in Pittsfield VT, while on one of hundreds of extended ski trips in central Vermont with my ski buddies and bunnies, I first felt a bumping in the gallon wine bottle we passed around, then when we approached remote light pole on that country road, showed all the huge ice ball that was forming in the bottle of wine we where passing around...... the local news the next day told it had reached -38F in that area..... well. If that becomes the norm in the years to come over much of the northern US and lower most..... I would say people will become believers that global warming is nothing but bullshit. If been in -25F range skiing at Jackson Hole for instance but that -38 quite frankly felt a bit cold to me.
Heheh. At that point I could start to appreciate a bit what my dad used to tell me about the winters during WW2 he was stationed in the signal corps at Fort Churchill Manitoba with all the polar bears. -50F for weeks on end and lower then short hops upward to a hot -40F range.
But I diverge. Thanks for the NPP first image composite.

[justa-hairyape]

Below zero is just too darn cold for me. Been in some cold weather, but nothing too far below - 10 F. When I was a kid went to a Michigan Wolverine College Football game and they were passing bottles down the rows which contained some hard liquor. Do not know if the alcohol helped, but it sure numbed the pain. Probably was not even legal drinking age for that game. Later.