IDAHO FALLS, Idaho - Was Hurricane Katrina a man-made product? An Idaho weatherman thinks so, but a Western Carolina University hurricane expert says the whole notion is laughable.

An Idaho weatherman says Japan's Yakuza mafia used a Russian-made electromagnetic generator to cause Hurricane Katrina in a bid to avenge itself for the Hiroshima atom bomb attack - and that this technology will soon be wielded again to hit another U.S. city.

Meteorologist Scott Stevens, a nine-year veteran of KPVI-TV in Pocatello, said he was struggling to forecast weather patterns starting in 1998 when he discovered the theory on the Internet. It's now detailed on Stevens' Web site, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported.

But Scientists discount Stevens' claims as ludicrous.