Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati are in the top 10 cloudiest cities in the country.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio is home to three of the top 10 cloudiest cities in the country

  • Cloudy weather can have a direct impact on your mental health

  • Seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression that occurs during the winter season when there's a lack of sunlight 

Spectrum News 1 meteorologist Erin Carroll said that’s because of Ohio being located by the Great Lakes.

“We actually get lake-effect clouds," Carroll said. "So that happens when you have the warmer waters of the Great Lakes interacting with colder air. That's coming in from the north. So we tend to get a lot more clouds, especially late fall in early winter because the Great Lakes aren't frozen yet."

According to the data, those cities can see around 200 cloudy days a year which, according to Cleveland Clinic psychologist Susan Albers, can impact your mental and physical health.

“Our exposure to sunlight triggers vitamin D, and it also impacts our circadian rhythms, which in turn impacts our serotonin level and melatonin," said Albers. "That's why we feel sleepy or why we lack motivation. That exposure to the sunlight is critical to our mood and our mental health."

Alisha Eilers knows that feeling all too well.

“When the time change happens, I said, 'I'm going to become a different person,'” Alisha Eilers said.

She’s struggled with seasonal affective disorder most of her life and knows she needs to find ways to help her through these cold cloudy months.

“I start getting moody and less energy and, you know, sad,” Eilers said.

She uses a light to imitate sunlight in her home and exercises, but she said taking Vitamin D supplements have been the most helpful because she used to be Vitamin D deficient, which made a huge impact on her mental health. 

“Once I started taking that, and I got my Vitamin D checked again in my blood, and it was dead center, I literally don't experience it anymore," Eilers said. "Like, I get slow, maybe slower, and I like to hibernate, and I like the cold and but, but I am so much better and so grateful and wish I'd known this."

Cloudy days may plague our state for the coming months.

“You really should still get outside, even if it's mostly cloudy," Carroll said. "If there's a little bit of sunshine out there, you can still benefit from that."