![Arctic sea ice winter maximum may be smallest on record](/sites/default/files/NSIDC-seaice-max-PolarStereoNorth-20150225_rotator_480.png)
Arctic sea ice extent reached 5.61 million square miles on February 25, and then began to retreat. Unless a late growth spurt takes place, it will be the smallest winter maximum in the satellite record.
![Map image for “Winter” in Alaska](/sites/default/files/styles/width_320/public/AK_winterSSTanom_480.jpg?itok=t2QV8bDh)
“Winter” in Alaska
March 18, 2015
![Map of Spring Outlook 2015](/sites/default/files/styles/card_thumb/public/2023-07/MP007_SpringOutlook_thumbnail_02_rl.jpg?itok=5jV1lMkz)
Spring Outlook 2015
March 13, 2015
![Are record snowstorms proof that global warming isn’t happening?](/sites/default/files/January_avg_temps_PRISM_rotator2.png)
The United States has plenty of warming wiggle room before it gets too warm to snow, and a wetter atmosphere may boost snow totals for some storms.
![Lack of snow drives Iditarod start 250 miles north](/sites/default/files/AlaskaSnowDepth_2015-480.jpg)
A map of snow depth across Alaska on March 9 shows the reason for the re-route of the historic sled dog race.
![How does El Niño affect U.S. spring precipitation?](/sites/default/files/MarchOutlook_precipfeatimg_480.jpg)
This pair of maps shows whether your state tends to have wet, dry, or average springs during El Niño, and how often the wet or dry pattern occurred during the last 10 El Niño years.
![Warm oceans pose risk of global coral bleaching event in 2015](/sites/default/files/CoralOutlook_480.jpg)
After a surprisingly rough summer for coral reefs in 2014, NOAA scientists are warning that warm ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans could set the stage for a global outbreak of coral bleaching—the loss of corals’ food-producing algae—in 2015.
![Despite Antarctic Gains, Global Sea Ice Is Shrinking](/sites/default/files/EO_IOTD_AntarcticSeaIce_480.png)
NASA ice expert Claire Parkinson confirms that global sea ice coverage has continued its overall downward trend since her original analysis was published in 2015.