BLOOMINGTON - It's rained, snowed and flooded this winter. In between, we've been assaulted by London-like fog and scary thunderstorms.

It's been just plain weird - and also more than a little depressing.

Twin City mental health professionals have noticed increased anxiety among their patients because of the unusual winter weather, and they are monitoring the situation.

"Everybody is talking about the weather and how crazy it's been," said Kevin Krippner, a licensed clinical psychologist at Twin Cities Behavioral Health at BroMenn Regional Medical Center in Normal.

"This has been one of the strangest winters I recall," agreed Chris Cashen, a licensed clinical professional counselor at Carle Clinic.

It's normal to talk about the weather. Everyone does it: "Cold enough for you?" "Do you believe this weather?"

But this winter has a lot of people talking about it a lot more.

Bob Groetken, owner of Schooners restaurant in Bloomington, summed up the feelings of many last week: "Everybody is ready for a change."

That "change" is spring.

But that season won't officially arrive for about another month (the official start of spring is March 20) and as last week proved, winter is still very much with us.

"You can only go so long without seeing the sun and it begins to affect you," Groetken said.

Sherry Dilbeck, who owns Shear Dimensions Hair Studio in Bloomington, said the weather is the major topic of conversation at her business, too.

"It's been cold and gray, and it gets everybody a little bit gloomy," she said.

Bad weather can impact just about everything.

"It impacts transportation, work and family activities and creates an additional level of stress," Krippner said.

Seasonal affective disorder

He and Cashen said that while they aren't necessarily seeing more patients because of the weather, it's causing additional stress for the people they are treating.

If depression is brought on by the seasons, it could be seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. It most commonly occurs in the winter and is thought to affect millions of people, Krippner said.

Krippner said treatments include special intense light to mimic the effect of sunlight; counseling; and anti-depressant medications.

Cashen had this advice for everyone: "Pay attention to your self-care, exercise and get enough sleep."

Krippner said increased social contact can help, too - even if the topic of discussion is, well, the weather.

What's been so odd about this winter is the variety in the types of weather.

Getting a lot of snow in Central Illinois in winter is hardly news. On average, the Twin City area gets about 18 inches of snow from December through February. So far this winter, the National Weather Service has recorded about 21 inches.

But when springlike thunderstorms and fog so thick it's dangerous to back out of your driveway gets tossed into the mix, it can give talking about the weather new meaning.

Who can forget the pounding the city of Pontiac took in early January when torrential downpours caused the Vermilion River to flood. There was extensive damage to homes, a school and businesses before the river returned to its banks.

Then there were the numerous instances of dense fog that raised the stress level for motorists and air travelers throughout the region.

In early February, the fog may have played a role in a car-train accident that killed a Ransom man. It also made early voting on Super Tuesday more difficult and led to flight cancellations at Central Illinois Regional Airport.

"I don't remember a winter like this with such a variety of (weather) issues," noted Fran Strebing, deputy director of marketing at Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington.

The airport thus far has spent 67 percent more for salt and 58 percent more for de-icing chemicals than last winter, Strebing said, adding that fog is the most ominous weather challenge for airports.

"It won't leave till it's ready. Snow you can plow," she said.

A very wet winter

Dan Kelly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lincoln, said weather service records show fog restricting visibility to a quarter-mile or less on five days so far this month, once in January and six times in December.

In addition to the fog, a lot more rain has fallen this winter, which is shaping up to be the second-wettest winter on record. At the NWS in Lincoln, 13.46 inches of rain has been recorded so far this winter in the Twin City area, compared to a record 15.57 inches in 1949-50. Typically, there's about 5.9 inches of rain from December through February in the local area.

While lightning and thunder can occur any time of year, they are more common in the summer, Kelly said. Thunderstorms were recorded in Lincoln three days so far this month, three days in January and twice in December.

In short, it has been one wacky winter, prompting a final word of advice from Cashen: "Hope for spring."

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Seasonal affective disorder

SAD is a type of depression that follows the seasons. It is most common in the winter.

Symptoms: In fall and winter, they include depression, fatigue, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, a tendency to oversleep, a change in appetite (especially a craving for sweet or starchy foods), weight gain, heavy feeling in the arms or legs, and a drop in energy level.

Treatments: Bright light therapy, counseling, medication

SOURCES: familydoctor.org; MayoClinic.com; Wikipedia