The representativeness of the Icelandic sea ice record, one of the longest climate indicators for the North Atlantic sector, is assessed by statistical analysis. Correlation of the sea ice index with ice concentration data for the adjacent seas suggests that the index is a reasonable measure of the ice cover of a large area of the northern North Atlantic sector. Associations with surface air temperature and sea level pressure are strong but regional rather than hemispheric in scale. The immediate causes of the variable advance of ice onto the icelandic coasts are clear in the analysis of the atmospheric circulation data. Severe ice conditions are associated with enhanced anticyclonicity in the Icelandic region and stronger northerly and westerly winds over the Greenland Sea. It is concluded that the Icelandic index is a useful indicator of the state of the atmospheric flow north of Iceland and of the character of the East Greenland Current, one of the major avenues of meridional heat exchange in the climate system. ¿American Geophysical Union 1987