Wow, just wow. I was looking at the tiny 14k growth on IJIS and I can't believe what's happening. I've been reading what everyone has been saying and it is hard to believe how slow the growth has been this year. There have been some decent articles lately describing the the dipole that is forming.
It's way too early to tell, but it certainly seems like there has been some paradigm shift. I really agree with that was written above about how the cold air 'leaks' out of the arctic. If the rest of the season continues this way, I fear what we will see during the melt season next year. Additionally, large amplitudes in the jet stream driven by less temperature differentials is only going to make it easy for more heat to be injected into the arctic. But as described already, the 'warm' ocean temperatures are quite profound.
The ice must have been in weaker shape than I thought at the end of the melt season as it seems so susceptible to the arctic's current conditions.
And not to get off track with stupid anecdotal stories, but the weather has been scary where I live in Colorado. We broke two heat records this week when it hit almost 85 degrees. The mountains have literally no snow and we have had the same weather pattern for months on end. I only mention this, because this is yet another effect driven by diminishing ice levels.