I have updated the EOF analysis using the latest version of the ERSST version 5 data. It is interesting that the blob mode has come back in force after the 2015 ENSO shut it down. The combination of the blob mode (eof3) being highly positive, the second eof being positive, and the ENSO mode EOF1, being neutral or slightly negative, creates the condition under which the extreme cold January of 2015 was produced. That these conditions now exist is favorable for the extreme cold spell we just witnessed in the midwest and Texas.