I think the difference In the western ridge position was something Scott picked up on By mid December clearly and he consistently cited the tropical forcing saying that this was an up and in look . Meaning he saw enough and he has the knowledge to Realize the look was not favoring the coast, Bob as well . I.E he used the tropical forcing to deduce Where the ridging was likely to set up (Or why it wouldn’t trend favorable) Now this wasn’t deduced as clearly early month , but as we entered the favorable stormy period , it was by scooter .
So while the pattern looked potentially amazing in the future by early December it didn’t by mid month and never was that great for the CP .