Carver, i posted this in the mid Atlantic forum, that i heard when the ao goes very positive like indicated, it means that a SSW is underway and the ao should respond accordingly. Im probably crazy for saying that, but i heard it about 9 years ago but can't remember who told me. I know its a different pattern and year, but dec 1984 was really warm with raging ao and nao and end of December, things changed dramatically. If you have any ideas on what could be going on, let us know.