The effects we're feeling in the South US are mostly from the La Nina[1], but there is actually something interesting happening with the Arctic ice this winter. It's still below zero up there, but we might end up with a northern channel in about 4 years if it stays this warm. It isn't just about the ice that has formed, but the speed that it's forming. It's significantly slower than recent years[2]. This was caused in part from storms[3], so now the rapidly warming temperatures can cascade in the next years with darker water and thinner ice. Also, the methane crater explosions in Sibera can't be helping...[4]

[1]http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/10/us/la-nina-arrives/

[2]http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/files/2016/11/Figure2a.png

[3]https://robertscribbler.com/2016/11/18/arctic-storms-sparked...

[4]http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-exploding-permafrost-...

deepitee1 says:

"we might end up with a northern channel in about 4 years if it stays this warm."

A "northern channel"? Do you mean a wider "Northwest Passage" from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans?