Worst Winter of our Lifetime?
COSTELLO: There is no doubt that this has felt like the worst winter ever for much of the country. And we're still not out of winter yet. Need some recent reminders, though, four years ago today, snow and ice brought Atlanta's roadways to a sliding stop. Horror stories for people stuck in their cars for 24 hours are forced to walk home. Those stories became legend. Boston who is used to wintry weather, but winter -- with wintry weather like this. The city has gotten 56 inches of snow so far this season. That compares with an average of less than 32 inches. And as many as 100 vehicles got stuck in a pileup on the Pennsylvania turnpike just two weeks ago. Drivers blamed black ice, heavy winds and drifting snow. A meteorologist developed a misery index for just how bad this winter is. Indra Petersons is here to talk about that and psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert has some tips to deal with the winter blues. Welcome to both of you.</s>INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Thank you Carol.</s>JONATHAN ALPERT, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Thank you.</s>COSTELLO: So Indra go through that misery index for us.</s>PETERSONS: You know what if there was ever a time to think of a misery index it's going to be a perfect year. I mean take a look at this. When you combine not just amount of snow but also how cold it has been -- you put those two together, they now have an idea of how miserable it has been. Detroit, using that index, worst on record. Chicago, the 5th worst on the top five here with Indianapolis, Philly, even New York some ideas of kind of what we've seen already. Look at this let's talk about those morning lows. How cold and miserable it's been in the morning, Chicago, 22 days below zero. Minneapolis, 45 days below zero in the morning for that cold morning low. And then, we know all about the snow. Heavy amounts of snow; 57 inches for New York State that's the seventh snowiest in years since we have been keeping records. Philadelphia, 59.4 inches. When you talk about why Detroit is the worst, well look at that number 78.9 inches. And on top of it, they got those cold lows; 13 lows below zero. I would say that is miserable.</s>COSTELLO: That is miserable. OK so Dr. Alpert, I never quite bought into the whole sad thing. But I mean are you seeing a lot of patients?</s>ALPERT: Carol, I am. I'm seeing a lot of patients this winter much more so than last winter. And one of the things that people can do to try to improve is to focus on what they can control and we can't control the weather there is no question about that. But what we can control is the way we think about it. And frankly the more people complain about the weather, it creates a contagion effect. And it just reinforces the negativity. So we can start to improve things by changing the way we think about it. We can also get out there. Even though it's cold and miserable, we can get out there. I know it sounds counterintuitive. But if we can get out there for ten minutes a day and get some sun exposure, it can really help. Light enters the brain through the eyes and it can impact the neurotransmitters that play a role in mood. So getting out there, being brave and being fearless and going out in the cold can help.</s>COSTELLO: OK so Indra Petersons is a brave, fearless woman who happens to love cold weather. And probably never suffers from SAD. So -- but I'll pose this as a meteorologist Indra. You have been a meteorologist for what, 12, 13 years. Is this the worst winter you've ever covered?</s>PETERSONS: I mean absolutely. When you have this many cities that are really suffering like this, no question. And the reason why we've this weird pattern right out West. We keep talking about how dry it's been. The drought conditions were stuck in this weather pattern. We have a ridge out here and a trough. What does that mean that the jet stream going really far to the south that's letting all that cold air in from Canada and unfortunately series after series of storms keep riding along that jet stream going all the way to the South and it just seems to never end, Carol.</s>COSTELLO: OK Dr. Alpert, just to help us more deal with all of this, I know you can get out there, get some sunlight if there is sunlight but what if there is no sunlight.</s>ALPERT: Yes if there's no sunlight exercise can be really helpful exercise gets the endorphins going. If we go to a gym, there is a social component to it. And that can be helpful. One of the symptoms of SAD or seasonal affective disorder is people isolate, they withdraw, they are not able to get out there and do the things that they typically would enjoy. So getting out there to the gym can actually be really helpful to kick start those endorphins. We can also try to sit near a window to get that light exposure so people who are in their office place they can maybe talk to their boss about moving their desk closer to a window. And that can be very helpful. So there are a variety of things that people can try. There is an end in sight. I am looking forward to spring and summer and maybe planning a summer vacation can really be inspiring and get people in a much better mood.</s>COSTELLO: I like that idea the best. Jonathan Alpert, Indra Petersons, thanks so much.</s>ALPERT: Thank you for having me.</s>COSTELLO: I already have my remedy for SAD. I'm going to Florida spring training -- oh yes. Thanks to you both. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now. Happening now in the NEWSROOM, we're close to a breaking point over that controversial bill in Arizona that would let businesses turn away gays.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All this does is bring division and hate to our state.</s>COSTELLO: More big corporations like Apple calling for the governor to veto it. Plus, was an iconic fight rigged?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This presents a shred of doubt on whether or not this was truly a Cinderella story.</s>COSTELLO: New evidence, the mob may have been behind one of the most legendary boxing matches ever. And Delta overhauling its frequent flyer program -- soon, the biggest spenders will get the biggest perks. The second hour of NEWSROOM starts now.