Experts: Snow depresses some LIers

As the snow falls again Friday, Martin Friedenthal of Island Park expects to be on a cruise ship headed for the Mexican Riviera.

That's his solution to a winter that already has dealt Long Island more than 32 inches of snow, not to mention the occasional freezing rain, high winds and dreaded black ice.

"We don't want to be snow birds, but we've got to get away," said Friedenthal, 65, a retired schoolteacher, who's traveling with his wife, Phyllis, 60, also a retired teacher. "I'm sure when we come back we'll have people throwing snowballs at us."

About 2 to 5 inches of snow are expected Friday, with the first flakes falling just after midnight, forecasters said.

Messy commutes, cabin fever and digging out have made for a winter of discontented people - some of whom are suffering from seasonal depression, experts say.

"This time of year you get people with problems sleeping, oversleeping and overeating," said Jason Kornrich, a Nassau University Medical Center psychologist.

Kornrich said more people are running low on energy in the cold-weather months. "It's a general sadness," he said. "Their batteries are running low."

It's winter depression, or seasonal affective disorder, and it may affect up to 5 percent of the population. There are mild versions that "most people deal with," Kornrich said, and then there are more severe cases, two dozen of which were seen at the hospital in recent weeks.

All this, and perhaps a brighter economy, have local travel agencies reporting a rise in bookings to places like Mexico and the Caribbean.

Austin Travel in Melville has seen a 15 percent to 20 percent uptick over this time last year.

Henry Hastava, owner of Island Park Travel, also saw an increase in warm-weather bookings over last year. He's leaving on a cruise with 50 seniors Thursday.

"They just want to get out of the house," Hastava said. "Most of the time, they don't even care where we're going."