Abstract Rapid, episodic sea‐ice loss during the summer is commonly attributed to strong winds from Arctic storms, but the physical relationship between winds and ice melt remains poorly understood. Therefore, we use observations of the air‐sea‐ice interface from autonomous buoys deployed throughout the Arctic over the last two decades to examine the causes of rapid bottom ice melt during summer. Analysis of an individual rapid melt event and a composite of 18 events in the marginal ice zone reveals that rapid melt occurs when wind‐induced ice drift increases after quiescent conditions, during which heat accumulates in the upper ocean. The increased winds trigger rapid bottom melt by mixing the upper ocean and advecting ice into the warmed water. Observed melt rates have a stronger relationship to upper‐ocean temperature than to ice drift speed. These results suggest that antecedent upper‐ocean warming is a prerequisite for wind‐induced rapid ice melt.