POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam will host an upcoming live screening of a webinar and a local panel discussion about the severe weather challenges confronting New York State and the North Country in the 21st century.

"Facing the Storm," will be held Thursday, April 23 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the Dunn Hall Theater at SUNY Potsdam. Admission is free.

A panel of local experts will expand upon the discussion and talk about the long-term environmental ramifications of severe weather events in the North Country.

The local panel discussion will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon, also in Dunn Theater. Dr. Phillip Neisser, a professor of politics and the coordinator of environmental studies at SUNY Potsdam, will moderate the discussion.

Local expert panelists include: Stephen Bird, associate professor of political science, Clarkson University, Ray Bowdish, instructional specialist, SUNY Potsdam Department of Biology, and proprietor of Never Tire Farm in Lisbon, Paul Hetzler, horticulture and natural resources educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County, Gary McCullouch, regional spill and emergency response coordinator, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, William Morris, dean of students and co-chair of the Emergency Response Resource Group at SUNY Potsdam, and John Tenbusch, planner, St. Lawrence County Planning Office.

The event kicks off with a live webinar screening from the Rockefeller Institute of Government at the University at Albany, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Panelists participating in the webinar include: Lance Bosart, a distinguished professor in UAlbany's Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Jerry Brotzge, project director for NYS Mesonet, UAlbany, Paul Caiano, meteorologist, WNYT-TV (Albany), Christopher Thorncroft, chair of UAlbany's Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, David Vallee, hydrologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northeast River Forecast Center, and Kevin E. Wisely, deputy commissioner of emergency services, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

"Facing the Storm: Severe Weather Challenges Confronting New York State in the 21st Century" is co-sponsored by SUNY Potsdam, the Rockefeller Institute of Government, the University at Albany Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the New York State Emergency Management Association.

For more information, contact 267-2108, or visit www.rockinst.org/forumsandevents/upcoming.