Much of the eastern U.S. is about to plunge into the coldest wave of Arctic air we've seen this winter, and for many, it could feature more sustained cold temperatures than we saw during the Great Polar Vortex Panic of 2014. If that isn't bad enough, the east could see a couple of disruptive winter storms next week.

If you woke up this fine Tuesday morning to find much less snow than forecasters predicted, you're likely one of the thousands of angry people sprinting to the computer to voice your outrage—outrage!!!—that those lowlife, idiotic, goodfernothin' meteorologists can't get anything right. Here's why you're wrong.

After a short night of restless sleep, it appears that forecasters are still predicting the end of the world in the Northeast this evening. If you haven't panicked yet, you have several hours to do so before it's too late. Hug your children. Hoard booze. This is not a drill. Here's what you need to know to make it through the storm.