A severe cold wave impacted the Central US in February 2021, with the Southern Plains region especially hard hit. The severe winter weather may have been unique in the historical record for this region, based on duration, intensity of the cold and the widespread snowfall. The energy infrastructure in Texas collapsed, causing loss of power and drinking water and may be the costliest winter weather disaster on record in US history. This disaster reignited debate on whether global climate change and particularly Arctic change, are contributing to more extreme winter weather in mid-latitudes. This session seeks contributions of observational analysis and modeling experiments, that elucidate whether climate change, especially amplified Arctic warming, is contributing to extreme mid-latitude weather. This is a hotly debated topic and we seek to include a diversity of perspectives and results. Research that is directly applicable to the impactful events of winter 2021 are especially encouraged.