A FRIGID WINTER IS COMING If you live in the northern United States, get ready to bundle up this winter. New climate studies foresee that as the Arctic warms, the polar vortex is shifting toward Europe and frigid cold will move into North America in February and March. The development is detailed in Nature. The polar vortex is a ring of fast-moving air in the atmosphere above the Arctic, and it acts as a pocket of sorts, trapping the coldest air within it. Over the last 30 years, it has moved continuously away from North America and into Europe and Asia. This results in chilly winds from up north escaping into North America while Europe gets the benefit of warmer winters. Climate scientists believe that the vortex shift is largely due to disturbances by global warming. Ice cap melting allows the sun's warmth that is absorbed by the ocean to escape back into the atmosphere instead of being trapped under the ice. This warmth weakens the vortex, allowing cold air to migrate to lower