Et Tu, NWS? Winter Is Coming, Maybe

The NWS [JessePedia] office in Blacksburg, Virginia issued this "chilling" statement Saturday morning for the mid-Atlantic United States:

...MAJOR LONG-TERM CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN EXPECTED BEGINNING MONDAY NIGHT... THIS PROLONGED STRETCH OF UNUSUALLY MILD WEATHER IS ABOUT TO END. A MAJOR SHIFT IN THE WEATHER PATTERN BACK TO COLDER TEMPERATURES WILL BEGIN ON MONDAY NIGHT AS A STRONG COLD FRONT SWEEPS SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE MID ATLANTIC REGION. REINFORCING BLASTS OF COLD AIR FROM CANADA WILL THEN MOVE THROUGH THE MID ATLANTIC REGION EVERY SEVERAL DAYS... MAINTAINING CLOSE TO NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR MUCH OF THE REST OF THE MONTH... AND PERHAPS INTO FEBRUARY.

This goes somewhat against a statement that they issued last week to the Associated Press, saying "The NWS expects warmer-than-normal weather overall in the [Northern U.S.] through March."