North American weather maps this week have been colorful. They feature lots of purple and blue as forecasters project lots of snow, ice and brutal wind chills. The Wednesday forecast map issued by the U.S. National Weather Service also featured a big orange blob—a blizzard warning—across the Dakotas and Minnesota.

It all sounds familiar. The bitter winter of 2013-2014 and its infamous polar vortex reversed a recent trend of mild cold seasons across the continent. This winter appears to be another cold one.

As furnaces kick on and power plants run full out, it remains to be seen whether this cold season will have an equally severe impact on natural gas and NGL demand and prices. Duke Energy this week asked customers to reduce electricity usage as it struggles to meet demand. “The forecasted conditions are very similar to those we experienced last January during the polar vortex, and are affecting a large portion of the country,” said Nelson Peeler, vice president of transmission system operations. “We currently have sufficient generation resources to meet our customers’ energy needs, but we know from experience that conditions can change quickly, and we need to be prepared.”

Last winter resulted in astronomical citygate prices for gas, particularly in bitter cold New York and New England, and a propane shortage across much of the Midwest.

The fall of 2014 was cooler than normal, according to the National Climatic Data Center. Its data for the four weeks ended Dec. 4 showed all of the continental U.S. east of the Rockies, except New England, below average. The deep South was particularly cool with Alabama and Mississippi having their second-coolest Novembers on record, going back to 1895. Eighteen states marked top-10 coldest months in the period, the agency said.

That chill translated into early—and heavy—snow. “The November contiguous U.S. snow cover extent was the largest on record,” the data center reported. “Over 50% of the Lower 48 had snow on the ground in mid-November.” The early cold, coupled with still-warm water in the Great Lakes, led to some astounding lake-effect snows. Buffalo, N.Y. recorded 65” of snow for the month with flooding when the weather finally warmed.

In contrast, the central Rockies and Pacific Northwest enjoyed normal temperatures. California served as the outlier, notching its ninth -warmest November on record. Nevada and Arizona were slightly warmer than average. Alaska also was warmer than normal.

For the first 11 months of 2014, the U.S. overall was 0.2 F above the 20th Century average—or just about normal. However, it was the nation’s coolest 11-month period since 1997 and reversed recent warm years. Precipitation, overall, was slightly above average.

For the winter months of 2015, the weather service has projected colder-than-normal weather for the Midwest and South. The Rockies, Great Plains and upper Midwest will be near normal, the agency said. The West Coast will continue warm while New England—with its lingering gas pipeline capacity constraints—may get lucky this time with a warmer-than-normal winter forecasted. The southern half of the nation should be wetter than normal with drier weather in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest, the weather service said.

Those brutal cold fronts falling out of the Arctic hit the northern half of the continent first and Environment Canada predicts a colder-than-normal winter for Ontario, Quebec and Labrador. Canada’s West Coast and the Maritimes are projected to turn out warmer than normal. The Prairie Provinces will be about average, it forecasted.