Compare and contrast (link).

Note in particular the patch of snow cover extending almost to the gulf coast.

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/current.anom.south.jpg

The global sea ice extent, north and south combined, went over 1 million sq. kms above normal as well.

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/global.daily.ice.area.withtrend.jpg

How can all this ice be melting at a record rate when the freezing rate is above normal?

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/arctic.4.jpg

There are a number of areas, several square Km in size, near the West Coast, which are not shown. Collectively they would add up to a handsome area. More systemic weaknesses with passive microwave.

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/arctic.jpg

This is a brilliant illustration of how the algorithm artificially lowers the areal extent estimate. Look at the areas where sea ice fills in the Arctic Ocean up to the shoreline (at this point in the season, essentially, the entire shoreline). See the jagged gap between the shore and the depicted ice edge? That is done by the algorithm. It is because passive microwaver remote sensing cannot really tell the difference between the (snow covered) sea ice and the (snow covered) land. Therefore, in order to avoid the program “blowing up” there is a hack to insert an artificial gap. The gap is created by layering the known shoreline data in, and arbitrarily inserting a crack in the ice that has a set width. In the past, some have wondered how a filled in Arctic can show less than 100% coverage. This is the answer.

…JANUARY 2008 YEAR GROUP ANALYSIS…

THE YEAR GROUP FOR THE FIRST OF JANUARY IS 1999.

THE ICE IN THE BERING AND CHUKCHI SEAS AT THE START OF JANUARY 2008
HAS REACHED A POINT WHERE THERE ARE SEVERAL PAST YEARS WITH SIMILAR
ICE FOOT PRINTS. THERE IS…HOWEVER…A DIFFERENCE IN ICE THICKNESS
WITH THE ICE IN THE WESTERN BERING AND NEAR RUSSIA BEING THINNER THIS
YEAR. I USED THE YEARS 1999 AND 1996 FOR COMPARISON TO 2008 WITH 1999
BEING THE BEST MATCH WHEN METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS ARE COMPARED
ALONG WITH THE BASIC ICE POSITION.

BERING SEA 2008 WINTER ICE OUTLOOK.

EVENT 1999 1996 2008 OUTLOOK

ICE TO ST MATTHEW 11 JAN 10 JAN 6 JAN

ICE TO ST PAUL 22 MAR NO BRIEF PERIODS MID
FEB THRU MID MARCH

SOUTHERN EXTENT 56.7N/167.6W 58.2N/168.5W 56.5N TO 57N
WEST OF 165W 26 MAR 25 MAR BETWEEN 166W TO 168W
MID MARCH

EXTENT ALONG BERING FALSE PASS PORT HEIDEN FALSE PASS
SIDE OF AK PENINSULA

COOK INLET 2008 WINTER ICE OUTLOOK.

1996 WAS NOT USED IN THE COMPARISON FOR COOK INLET.

EVENT 1999 2008 OUTLOOK

GREATER THAN 50 PERCENT COVERAGE 20 JAN 18 JAN
PERCENT COVERAGE SOUTH OF KALGIN

LOWER COOK INLET LESS THAN 7 APRIL 4 APRIL
30 PERCENT COVERAGE…RETREAT

LOWER COOK INLET OPEN WATER 11 APRIL 9 APRIL

UPPER COOK INLET LESS THAN 12 APRIL 10 APRIL
30 PERCENT COVERAGE

…JANUARY 2008 YEAR GROUP ANALYSIS…

THE YEAR GROUP FOR THE FIRST OF JANUARY IS 1999. THE WINTER OUTLOOK
FOR THE BERING SEA AND COOK INLET WILL BE AMENDED TO THIS PRODUCT
TUESDAY MORNING.

KCOLE JANUARY 2008

Globally, sea ice shall soon be at a record high, versus the same calendar points of previous years. The global anomaly is positive and in an unnnnnnnnprecedented steep rise. Well, at least, unnnnnnprecedented in 29 years.