The State Climate Office of North Carolina posted an article to their blog today from Bradley McLamb, Meteorologist at the NC Division of Air Quality, and Corey Davis listing the possibilities for cold outbreaks this winter.  Even though El Niño is currently expected to impact the Southeast’s weather for the next few months, not every El Niño is exactly the same, and some hold the potential for a weakened polar vortex which would allow colder weather to move into the Southeast.  This is similar to the conditions we saw in January 2014 and February 2015 with frigid air entering the region.  You can read the discussion at https://climate.ncsu.edu/climateblog?id=164&h=5666e5c1.

PolarVortex