Lowe's brightens up the country's '10 Bleakest Cities'

Lowe's is extending a hand to help those who may be most browbeaten by this year's harsh winter season.

These include Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Hartford, Louisville, Nashville, Newark, New York City; Portland, Maine; and Providence, Rhode Island, according to the Accumulated Weather Season Severity Index's list of U.S. cities most impacted by this year's winter.

"The data doesn't lie – this has been one of the harshest winters in recent history and people are more than ready to shed the snow shovels and welcome spring," said Steve Hilberg, senior climatologist/meteorologist for the Midwestern Regional Climate Center at the University of Illinois and a collaborator on the AWSSI.

The retail giant sent its Lowe's Heroes volunteers to help remove snow from the playground at Boston's Leahy-Holloran Community Center this week, which Lowe's had built last year with Rebuilding Together. They'll also be returning for an additional spring makeover project once the ground has thawed.

Lowe's volunteers will also be visiting the other "10 Bleakest Cities of 2015" to assist with other revitalization efforts delayed on account of the weather. These include painting, landscaping, outdoor space creation, and other curb appeal enhancements.