I think there is some degree of accuracy with a blocky Arctic. I know this time of year Arctic Oscillations typically don't correlate well to the pattern as their signals weaken, however, if you look at 500mb height anomalies for the first week of the month there is some argument for an Arctic-driven pattern. The ultimate issue though has been that pesky vortex to our northeast (which has seem to become a fixture the past several years during the late spring to about late June) which I guess brings about...is the Arctic driving this fixture?