The big freeze continues and it's going to get worse - not weather-wise but in the relations between Washington and Moscow.
As the summer sun continues to shine across Europe, bringing one of the best summers in recent times, relations between Russia and the US have hit a new low with President Barack Obama's decision to cancel next month's scheduled meeting with President Vladimir Putin following Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to the fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden.
On Friday, Obama ramped up the pressure during a White House press conference when he likened the Russian president to "the bored kid in the back of the classroom" and said that following his decision to cancel he would "take a pause, reassess where it is that Russia is going".
An attempt to put a brave face on the decision, diplomats from both countries argue it is a minor incident that is only "disappointing", but in reality it is the most serious downturn in relations since the Cold War ended two decades ago. Privately, both sides admit the issue goes far beyond the Snowden case, which was only an irritant and not a major issue.
As evidence, they point to the fact that in the past year progress has stalled on inflammatory issues such as the conflict in Syria, missile defence in Europe, trade, and human rights. While it is clear the meeting between Obama and Putin at next month's G20 summit in St Petersburg would have been pretty meaningless with the Snowden case dominating the agenda, any cooling off is bad for the strategic relationship in the longer term.
As a US diplomatic source explained the situation: "By cancelling the talks, a door has been closed on a relationship which the president was keen to foster during his first term - remember the good-ole-boy photo opportunities?
"You get the feeling that it'll take some time to prise the door open again and get decisions on issues which simply have to be discussed."
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