518dm off the coast of Cape Mendocino

Well I'll be an uncle's monkey! Actual gusty east wind with PDX-DLS around -8mb.

Night Shift 6z GFS Day 7: 500mb Height Anomaly, 1000-500mb/Thickness/MSLP. If this doesn't drive home the message about how abysmal things have been I don't know what does. I'm not excited, but there is a small seepage of cooler air and offshore flow is trying to develop. I guess I'll take it? Yippee.....

There do exist some ridgier members still with a better blocking location into the New Year. Not sure what's the less likely outcome right now, that tiny cluster of members including the OP verifying, or this pattern continuing for a month straight? I honestly have no idea

True, but it won't take much to see trends towards ridging a bit further east towards mainland Alaska.