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At a Glance More of the Arctic is covered by ice than at any time since 2010.

The total amount of ice is still below average.

The polar vortex is keeping cold air locked up over the North Pole. Ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean is currently the highest it has been since 2010 with support from the strongest polar vortex on record.

Ice covers 5.4 million square miles of the Arctic – roughly the size of the United States, Mexico and India combined. This coverage is still below the long-term climate average , but the uptick is at least a temporary stall in sea ice decline.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/polar%20ice%20cover%20feb%202020.png?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/polar%20ice%20cover%20feb%202020.png?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/polar%20ice%20cover%20feb%202020.png?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > Ice Cover

The increased ice cover compared to the last decade is due to a strong polar vortex.

The polar vortex is a whirling cone of low pressure over the poles that is strongest in the winter months due to the increased temperature contrast between the polar regions and the midlatitudes, where the U.S. and Europe are located.

This isn't like a storm you might think of in the lower atmosphere, with cold and warm fronts producing rain or snow. Instead, the polar vortex occurs primarily in the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere about 6 to 30 miles above the ground – above the troposphere, where most of the weather with which you're familiar occurs.

When the polar vortex is strongest, cold air is less likely to plunge deep into North America or Europe (by strongest, we mean the generally west-to-east flow around the vortex is stronger than average).

Think of it like a wall – a stronger polar vortex helps block off cold, arctic air from the midlatitudes.

For much of this winter, the polar vortex has been strong and remained over the poles, where the coldest air has been trapped for the last few months.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/Jan%202020%20strat%20pattern.png?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/Jan%202020%20strat%20pattern.png?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/Jan%202020%20strat%20pattern.png?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > January 2020 Pattern

As meteorologist Jonathan Erdman wrote earlier this week , one metric that tracks the polar vortex and the tendency for cold air to spew southward hit a record high in early February , indicating the tendency for cold air to sweep eastward, not lock in and plunge southward.

(MORE: Will Polar Vortex Dip into U.S. in February?)

This trapping of cold air in the polar latitudes has allowed record heat to dominate over colder temperatures for the first part of this year.

There's a Catch, However

But there is a catch to the increasing sea ice in the Arctic: the depth, or volume, of the ice this year is still below average.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/ZLabe_Arctic_Sea_Ice.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/ZLabe_Arctic_Sea_Ice.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/ZLabe_Arctic_Sea_Ice.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > Arctic Sea Volume Since 1979 Ice volume in the Arctic remains low in 2020. (Zachary Labe (Twitter: @ZLabe))

Sea ice coverage is only representative of how much of the ocean is covered by ice, and is more influenced by weather – the short-term variations in temperature, clouds, precipitation and winds.

How much ice is not only on the surface, but also underneath the surface, is more directly tied to climate than coverage alone.

The amount of ice that forms and its thickness can have repercussions into the spring and summer.

And sea ice volume has been decreasing for decades.

Current indications are that the polar vortex should remain strong at least through the typical peak for ice volume, which usually happens in March. This should allow for both increasing ice coverage and volume.

This stronger polar vortex also means the Lower 48 should expect relatively warm conditions this spring, despite all of the ice in the Arctic.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.