You've answered your own question, I think...In Canada and the US, direct northerlies are hardly watered-down at all. The 'water' is either frozen, frozen and landlocked, or not there at all...
If there's one thing about the Sneck that I don't miss - it's those nagging, dreich Easterlies that keep day and night temperatures between 3 and 5C...I don't like them down here, either!
Well, if the Arctic sea-ice extended as far south (directly north of the UK) as Greenland does in the mid-Atlantic, you'd have a point??
Are we 'in danger' of wandering off-topic, CC?
Well, EE, I don't agree with you either...IMO, all the models are forever adapting to whatever new data they receive. So, I guess, in that respect, the are all 'playing catch-up'?