Richaburton wrote: The remaining pack has massive leads all over it. It must be so weak a big storm would have a really bad effect on it right now. For those without the link: http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/imagery/subsets/?mosaic=Arctic.2012252.terra.1km The leads do look dramatic, and they probably do weaken the ice, but they are not all that unusual. An early spring image from May 2000 is equally dramatic, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=857 and even in March and April, the pack is criss-crossed with leads, as many polar expeditions have learned!