article_snippet: Not only was this year's maximum extent, reached on February 25, the smallest on the satellite record, it's also one of the earliest.
article_snippet: It increases It area in winter, usually peaking between late February and early April, and then shrinks in the warmth of  spring and summer to reach It lowest extent in September.
article_snippet: If this year's maximum extent, totaling 5.61 million square miles, was reached on February 25, it was reached 15 days earlier than the 1981 to 2010 average date of March 12, according to NSIDC.
article_snippet: Only once before did the peak come earlier, by just one day in 1996.
article_snippet: A peak of 5.61 million square miles is about 50,000 square miles below the previous lowest peak wintertime extent, reached in 2011, according to NSIDC.
article_snippet: Strong southerly winds in early March also played a role, according to NOAA.
highlights_snippet: Barring an unlikely late surge in sea ice growth, the 2015 maximum is 5.61 million square miles .