Arctic Ice March 2011 Update #2

I suggest that by mid April the sea ice will be in a similar condition to that of late August 2010. In plain terms, the 2011 melt season will soon continue more or less where the 2011 melt season left off.
...
The melt season of 2010 is under way with less volume than former melt seasons.

Cold weather hinders Japan recovery efforts as leaders visit area

Tokyo: Snow was falling on northeastern Japan Saturday, as the cold weather held back the cleanup and reconstruction in the area devastated by the earthquake and tsunami two weeks ago.

"It’s so cold that we can’t do anything," one survivor told Japanese broadcaster NHK as he returned with his wife to their home.