New Record Low for Arctic Ice

Extraordinary warmth and a remarkably slow freeze-up in the Arctic Ocean in recent weeks have led to new records being set again for lowest observed sea ice extent for the time of year.  Today's write-up from the NSIDC describes the situation nicely:

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2016/11/sluggish-ice-growth-in-the-arctic/

Based on the monthly "sea ice index" data from NSIDC, the standardized anomaly of October's sea ice extent was the lowest of any month in the satellite record since 1979.  The previous record was set in May of this year, as we discussed here.