Updated on January 25, 2021 at 1:01 pm NBC Universal, Inc. A definite change in the weather pattern is unfolding for New England, removing us from our multi-week lull that’s delivered winter complacency for some. The awakening of winter comes as the feed of Pacific energy and moisture comes alive in response to the recent splintering of the Polar Vortex in high latitudes. The Polar Vortex is a semi-permanent storm that represents a swirling mass of cold air and atmospheric energy that resides near the North Pole. Once a consolidated mass that would send occasional surges of cold and energy southward, modern winters in a warming planet have redesigned the behavior of the Polar Vortex.