A phenomenon called the polar vortex swept across much of the Lower 48 this week, bringing with it snow, well-below-zero temperatures—and a flurry of misinformation about the connection between cold weather and the warming climate.

Scientists have their suspicions that the vortex might be climate related—it certainly fits the trend of the more extreme weather events caused by climate change—but they’re understandably cautious about linking short-term weather to long term changes. Those who are quick to dismiss warming, however, haven’t been so careful.

It often doesn’t take much more than winter to cause climate change doubters to shout foul, the vortex—essentially a mass of swirling arctic air that tipped over and spilled southward across North America—has provided an especially good opportunity for them to attempt to sway opinion toward the cold side of the debate.

“It looks to me like we’re talking about global cooling, forget this global warming,” said Fox Business’ Stuart Varney reporting on a research ship trapped in ice near Antarctica, “That’s just my opinion.”

Varney was hardly the only one with that opinion. High-profile climate change deniers from Rush Limbaugh to Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) to Donald Trump have pointed to the chill as proof that climate change was a science hoax concocted by the liberal media.

“It’s a hoax,” Trump told Fox News on Wednesday. “I think the scientists are having a lot of fun.”

Of course, scientists and media have stepped up to stop such silliness cold in its tracks, explaining the weather trends are not the same as climate and that extreme events such as polar vortex are possibly even linked to a warmer climate and melting sea ice.

“If you've been hearing that extreme cold spells like the one that we're having in the United States now disprove global warming, don't believe it,” White House science advisor John Holdren said in a video post on the White House Blog Wednesday. “A growing body of evidence suggests that the kind of extreme cold being experienced by much of the United States as we speak is a pattern that we can expect to see with increasing frequency as global warming continues.”

If scientific evidence is in short supply among climate-denying pundits, it is also lacking among the broader public. And surely such groundless claims only help to fuel the misinformation and confusion about climate change. According to a March 2013 Gallup poll cited by the Washington Post, six out of ten people don’t think climate change will impact them in their lifetime. And another poll, conducted by the Washington Post and ABC, suggests that only 18 percent of Americans think global warming should be given top priority by the government.

It’s difficult to say how much of public opinion stems from statements made by climate naysayers, but even while an undeniable consensus of scientists can disprove those claims with research, yet another poll, conducted in 2012, shows that belief in science is waning; just 26 percent of the public trust scientists “completely” or “a lot,” while 32 percent have little to no trust.

In a world in which “certainty” in science rarely means 100 percent, maybe it should come as no surprise that many Americans can’t quite accept or understand that “95 percent” certainty is about as certain as it gets. The most recent report by the United Nation’s climate panel cites a 95 percent certainty that humans are the “dominant clause” behind global warming since the 1950s.

Not even John Holdren is not suggesting that there is a definite or even direct link between climate change and the polar vortex. But like many other scientists, he points to data that suggest that extreme weather events will become more frequent as the climate warms.

One thing is definite, though—the effects of the polar vortex will pass, while the vortex of climate confusion is likely to continue.