According the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado, "unusually cold conditions and persistent northerly winds" were a record-breaking recipe this year for arctic sea ice.
The chilly weather conditions allowed the ice to cover more territory and much later in the season than any other March since satellites started measuring arctic ice in 1979. On March 31, the ice measured 5.89 million square miles -- 260,000 square miles more than the 2006 record low for the month of March.
Wind and temperature patterns in the Bering and Barents seas "pushed the ice edge southward," according to the NSIDC.
But it's likely not enough to affect the amount of sea ice the arctic will experience over the summer. "The late date of the maximum extent, though of special interest this year, is unlikely to have an impact on summer ice extent. The ice that formed late in the season is thin, and will melt quickly when temperatures rise," according to the NSIDC's press release Tuesday.