In one embodiment, a network assurance service that monitors a network detects a pattern of network measurements from the network that are associated with a particular network problem. The network assurance service tracks characteristics of the detected pattern over time. The network assurance service uses the tracked characteristics of the detected pattern over time as input to a machine learning-based pattern analyzer. The pattern analyzer is configured to determine whether the detected pattern is a perpetual or transient pattern in the network, and the pattern analyzer is further configured to detect anomalies in the characteristics of the pattern. The network assurance service initiates a change to the network based on an output of the machine learning-based pattern analyzer.