Tornadoes? Snow? Weather chaos? Don't blame La Nina, meteorologist says

Some have been quick to blame La Nina, the cold-hearted sister of El Nino.

But not so fast, says E. O'Lenic of the National Weather Service.

He says that La Nina's cooling effect on the Pacific Ocean does play a role in the movement of large air masses and can therefore affect a particular region's climate for weeks or months.

But O'Lenic says it doesn't act on a small enough scale to cause individual storms.

Massive January snow accumulation in Buffalo, New York

"If we look at past La Ninas and El Ninos, severe weather doesn't favor either one," O'Lenic said. "It actually seems to occur in the normal years in-between."

That explanation is not likely to satisfy those who have suffered through this winter's many extremes.

But O'Lenic says violent weather will happen when it happens, and just because a hundred tornadoes hit the South in the middle of a La Nina event doesn't mean there's a connection.

"It was unusual, but it wasn't attributable to La Nina," O'Lenic said.

And now, shirtsleeve weather in January. If we can't blame La Nina, maybe another Spanish phrase will do: "Clima Loco" -- crazy weather.

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