Why so few named storms in the Atlantic?

This naming of Mid-Level Cyclones and the emphasis on the Polar Vortex is more just a fad and the NWS is not doing it (yet). The Weather Channel gets ratings for this and the NWS does not see the need.

During the cold outbreaks we have what is known as the Arctic Oscillation Pattern in the negative phase, which simply means that cold air from Canada comes rushing in while storms develop in the Gulf of Mexico, Southeast USA and the Atlantic Seaboard.

The already present cold dense air and the overrunning warm moist air falls through the colder air and you get freezing and frozen precipitation. Here just recently we got here in NC, 6-10 inches of snow as a Low Pressure Area moved from near Texas and the Northern Gulf. These slow moving systems like cold fronts are wedged against high pressure areas and are favorable for development as disturbances move along the frontal boundaries and areas of Cyclogenesis (Low Pressure Areas) happen.

These bring the available moisture necessary to bring snow, freezing precipitation and strong surface winds.

http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climate/patterns/NAO.html