NAO and its effect on our weather

I'm not gonna pretend I understand this, but NAOs (North Atlantic Oscillations) greatly determine what kind of weather we're gonna have. There are positive (+) and negative (-) NAOs. I heard about this for the first time the other night on the Weather Channel.
Some winters we have long periods of very cold weather, the weather patterns seem to linger for many days. Other winters there's a lot of wildly fluctuating weather. It's 50 one day, the next few days it hovers in the zero and teens area, and back to the 50s again (much like the last two winters in MI)
These weather changes have always been around? I'm guessing yes. I'm guessing that El Nino, La Nina play into this NAO equation?

I'm hoping some like E_T or Indy can opine here.

www.met.rdg.ac.uk...
www.clivar.org...
www.ldeo.columbia.edu...
Something we laymen can understand.

Well I'm extremely tired from a long and questionable weekend. LOL. I believe it was last year when we recorded the sharpest negative phase of the NAO since they began tracking it. I It really only impacts weather on a shortterm basis. I would say at best a seasonal impact. The PDO has a longer impact. 10 to 20 years. PDO = Pacific Decadal Oscillation. In my opinion these factors basically just mess up forecasts. I think thats why seasonal forecasts are so pointless because its hard to tell how these patterns will set up. Its nothing like the impact of the thermohaline circulation.

Maybe I'll try this again tomorrow when I get some sleep.

Thanks, Indy, I appreciate your answer. I hope you get some much needed rest, they're calling for snow again midweek for this part of the midwest anyway (MI)

I guess what attracted my attention to the NAO was last winter's weather, which is much like this winter's weather. The temperatures are fluctuating a lot, even for Michigan weather.
I'll lokk into the PDO and see if I can make sense of it. And, maybe someone else will share their knowledge. I read those NOAA seasonal forecasts and usually laugh, they're so lame.