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During the winter months, the Arctic region is cold and dark, with little to no sunlight or solar heat.

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Sea ice grows during this time, reaching its largest extent sometime in March.

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When something disrupts the cold, dry, winter Arctic atmosphere, sea ice can feel the effects,

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and these effects may linger through the season.

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At the end of December 2015, an extreme cyclone formed in the north Atlantic

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and swept into the central Arctic.

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North Atlantic cyclones, like this one, are low-pressure systems of strong, swirling winds

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transporting unseasonal heat and moisture into the Arctic from lower latitudes,

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disrupting sea ice growth.

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Scientists used the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite

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to study the atmospheric effects of this cyclone on the sea ice surface

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in the Barents and Kara seas. They observed above freezing temperatures

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that were up to 20 degrees warmer than normal in some places.

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As a result of this cyclone, the concentration of sea ice in the Barents and Kara seas decreased by around 10 percent

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and the sea ice edge moved northward.

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The loss in sea ice area during this time was equivalent to the size of Florida.

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Scientists think excess energy input into the surface

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might have caused the sea ice to thin significantly,

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although not enough to cause a complete melt out yet. After the storm, weather conditions returned to normal

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but the sea ice extent stayed low throughout the month of January

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with large parts of the Barents and Kara seas unseasonably ice-free.

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NASA scientists say the effects of this storm on the sea ice could have been a tipping point,

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leading to the record low Arctic sea ice maximum observed this past winter.

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As we approach this winter season,

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after the second-lowest summer sea ice extent on record,

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NASA scientists wonder if cyclones like this one will have similar or worsened effects on the vulnerable sea ice.