The Reuters piece said much of nothing, imo.

Quotes like
"We are living in a time of climatic hardship," Bastardi said. "We're in a cycle where weather extremes are more the norm and not the exception."

could really be said at any time, any month, any season, and any year.

I agree with many who say these pre-season forecasts that try to be exceptionally accurate aren't of much use, other than they cause a good stir in the mass media, create a bit of buzz on the street, sell a few more shares of someone's stock, dump a few more shares of another, and generally serve to entertain the rest of us in a slightly whimsical manner.