NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — While global temperatures are warming, new research suggests winters may be getting colder in the Northeast.

New Jersey state climatologist Dr. Dave Robinson told CBS2’s Vanessa Murdock that Arctic sea ice is lower than he ever thought he’d see in his lifetime.

“There are profound changes happening in the Arctic,” he said.

Research released in “Nature Climate Change” suggests there is a link between the disappearance of Arctic ice and a shift in the position of the dreaded polar vortex, which is an area of low pressure known to be near the north pole. However, it seems to be moving closer to Eurasia.

The move favors cold air outbreaks in the Tri-State Area, especially during late winter and early spring.

“There are areas in the mid-Atlantic that will get colder, at least in the years ahead, because of the warming pattern that’s changing the ice coverage in the Arctic,” Robinson said.

Some New Yorkers were not happy to hear the news.

“Kill me now. I can’t take it,” one said.

“Not good, not good. Who wants to be cold?” Roger Dellimore, of Brownsville, Brooklyn, said.

Others said it comes with the territory.

“It’s not going to stop a New Yorker,” Sandee Haber, of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, said.

The changes may just mean more layers to brave more brushes with bone-chilling Arctic air.