Winter...Brought to You Courtesy of La Niña

 This is how La Nina is affecting the world

 This is how La Nina is affecting the United States and Mexico

This is how LA Nina is affecting Chicago

That snow blanketing half of the U.S. and eastern Canada? That mega-monster-superstorm, Cyclone Yasi, which just hit Queensland, Australia? All can be blamed on a little girl. That's right: The weather condition known as La Niña -- Spanish for "the girl" -- has struck again.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines La Niña as "cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures" in the tropical Pacific Ocean that impact weather patterns around the world. The cold weather conditions happen every few years but can last as long as two years at a time. What this means to you: Snow, snow, and more snow.
You may also remember its male counterpart, El Niño which brings opposite weather patterns from La Niña. Under El Niño, parts of Australia were drought-prone. Under La Niña, think biblical floods and cyclones. Both can cause havoc on the weather by changing the direction of the winds and high and low pressure systems.
While snow shoveling has become a daily activity for many, according to climate experts, it's not so bad compared with other historic storms in the past. An official with the federal Climate Prediction Center, Mike Halpert told the AP, "Mother Nature has decided to show us what winter is like again." And right now, Mother Nature translates to La Niña.
 And so you say say, "how can there possibly be global warming going on while we are enduring these arctic conditions?"  Don't be fooled by La Nina. She'd like that. The planet is still heating up. The oceans are warmer, the heat is still trapped by the greenhouse gases and the sun is still beating down upon us with ever increasing ferocity.  La Nina is a temporary condition, covering only a part of the globe, and will dissipate just like a bad storm  and we will still be left with global warming. Be aware.