We are talking extreme weather, and its impact across New York State, this weekend on In Focus. Following recent record-setting rainfall and flooding across parts of the Hudson Valley, JoDee Kenney sat down with Nick Bassill, director of research & development at the University at Albany Center of Excellence. Bassill talked about the value of New York State Mesonet data, gathered from its 126 advanced weather stations deployed across the state, provides for emergency managers and forecasters. Funded with federal dollars in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, NYS Mesonet collects temperature, wind, rainfall, and other measurements from these stations spaced, on average, 18 miles apart. Bassill said the data is made immediately available to local and state officials, as they work to direct resources to areas impacted the most. Researchers are also able to access this data, and have been able to identify and study weather trends due to climate change.

You can check out this near real-time weather information provided by the New York State Mesonet at nysmesonet.org.

You can watch the full interview with Bassill via the video player above. And be sure to tune in for a look inside the biggest issues impacting Upstate New York, on In Focus with JoDee Kenney — every Sunday on Spectrum News 1.