El Nino Most likely, everybody knows about El Nino, and they know that it can affect the weather in a given year. However, most people do not really understand what el nino is. Many people have heard all different sorts of explanations and have formed somewhat of an idea, but that idea is usually rather distorted. THe term El Nino comes from the Spanish, meaning little boy, or Christ child. Coined for the tendency of the phenomenon to arrive around Christmas, usually every 4 to 5 years, lasting anywhere from 12-18 months. The El Nino or El Nino southern oscillation(enso) phenomenon is a disruption in the eastern equatorial pa