I think the main deviation from what I had expected for the month of December when I issued my outlook a couple of weeks ago is that the neg NAO looks a bit more pronounced, which turns this:
Into this:
NO
Note how the more pronounced high latitude blocking earlier in the season helps to relegate any semblance of a se ridge to the southern mid Atlantic, as compared to modest positive anomalies encroaching on the NE in the aforementioned guidance and seasonal forecast comp