"Now I have seen the current muddy at break up but usually after prolonged warming and winds. This one is about a month ahead of the game."

I have been speaking with elders in the community and they have never before seen the river break up that soon.

The melt season for Arctic sea ice is underway after the annual maximum extent was reached late last month. Sea ice extent reached its annual maximum on Feb. 25, 15 days earlier than the 1981-2010 average date and one of the earliest dates for that milestone in the four-decade satellite record.

These windy conditions have started to negatively impact sea ice coverage in the Bering Strait. Based on satellite imagery and observations from residents across the region, more open water has started to appear along coastlines and thicker ice has been pushed around, climatologist Rick Thoman said. He noted that sea ice conditions are drastically different in the Bering Strait than they were five days ago.