Do you know what the polar vortex is?

Did you feel the chill this morning? It turns out it was much colder to our east.

Temperatures dropped to well below zero in some areas.

The reason for the cold? A phenomena known as the polar vortex.

So what is the polar vortex? We took to the streets of Colorado Springs to see if you knew the answer.

Turns out, some people knew what it is and others just know how it makes them feel.

Stanley Niallis of Colorado Springs knew the answer. “That’s when the cold air comes from the North Pole through Canada and dips down,” he said.

Marcia Curtis of Colorado Springs doesn’t know what the Polar Vortex is, but she knows plenty about the cold that comes with it.

“Sometimes when the wind hits, that’s when it’s hard. It’s really hard and you wonder if you can even take your next breath,” she said.

The polar vortex is actually a permanent low pressure center over the Arctic that is weaker in the summer and stronger in the winter.

Occasionally cold air gets dislodged by northward moving systems, allowing the air to spill into parts of the United States.