AFTER EL NINO, WHAT'S NEXT? LA NINA

El Nino has been named as the cause of nearly every climatic catastrophe in recent months: Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Mud slides. Death. Destruction. You get the picture.

In fact, El Nino has been an easy scapegoat for more than weather. Perhaps even Bill Clinton has blamed a few of his headaches on this weather anomaly.

But now the word is that El Nino is fading. Finally. Perhaps the near-frenzy of weather hype can settle down.

Don't hold your breath.

Just when you thought it was safe to go outdoors, meteorologists have introduced La Nina -- the mirror opposite of El Nino. It supposedly plays the same weather tricks as El Nino, only in reverse.

Sometime this summer, the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean may cool, which could mean a more menacing Atlantic hurricane season.

Of course this whole cooling trend may put a damper on claims that global warming intensified El Nino. Will those environmental extremists now take up the battle cry of global cooling?

The weather is decidedly unpredictable. But with La Nina at hand, people should brace themselves for an onslaught of continued weather hysteria.