September 1, 2026
Weather records have been an essential tool for determining trends, predicting events, and adapting infrastructure over the past 150 years. One trend observed in recent years is that winters are changing. Whether it be changes in the frequency of storms, the amount of snow and ice, the number of rain events or temperatures, it is time to discuss how we can adapt to today's winters.
With our 2026 New York State Salt Summit just over one month away, we are thrilled to spotlight one of our most exciting sessions titled: 'Changing Winters’ with NewsChannel 13's Chief Meteorologist Paul Caiano and Climate Central Scientist Dr. Zachary Labe. Caiano and Dr. Labe bring a wealth of knowledge on weather, winter storms and how they have changed over time to the 2026 New York State Salt Summit.
Paul Caiano plans to bring the NewsChannel 13 First Warning Mobile Weather Lab to the Salt Summit, which collects real-time data, allowing him to share timely and accurate weather reports.
Paul Caiano is the Chief Meteorologist at WNYT NewsChannel 13 in Albany, NY, a position he has held for the past four years. His career at WNYT began in 1993, when he started delivering forecasts on the station's morning and weekend newscasts — a tenure that has now spanned more than three decades.
Over the course of his career, Paul has forecast some of the region's most significant weather events, including Tropical Storm Irene, the Mechanicville Tornado, the ice storms of 1998 and 2008, and the Great Barrington Tornado, alongside countless Nor'easters, tropical systems, heat waves, and cold spells.
Paul graduated from the University at Albany in 1993 with a degree in Atmospheric Science and Meteorology, along with minors in Communications and combined Physics and Mathematics. In 1992, he received the Presidential and Honors Convocation Award for his research on the correlation between cloud-to-ground lightning strikes and violent tornadoes.
Paul's fascination with weather took root in childhood. Growing up in New Rochelle, NY, he tracked storms as they approached, with Hurricanes David and Gloria leaving a lasting impression on him. That early curiosity grew into a lifelong passion — storm chasing became an annual ritual, with yearly trips to the Plains. In 2013, Paul came within a quarter mile of the largest tornado ever recorded, a 2.6-mile-wide storm near El Reno, Oklahoma.
Outside of work, Paul is married with two children, both now in college. An avid sports fan, he has played in softball and hockey leagues throughout the Capital Region.
Zack Labe is a Climate Scientist at Climate Central. He holds a Ph.D. in Earth System Science from the University of California, Irvine and a B.Sc. from Cornell University, and is a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. He was previously a Research Physical Scientist at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University.
Dr. Labe’s research focuses on understanding how and when regional climate change emerges from natural variability, with particular interests in global climate risk, extreme weather, and Arctic change. He uses machine learning and large ensembles of climate models to better understand our past, present, and future climate. He is an author in over 40 peer-reviewed publications and current serves on the AMS Committee on Climate Services, NCAR Climate Data Guide Board of Advisors, and PCAPS ORCAS Task Team.
Dr. Labe is also known for his work in science communication. He has delivered over 150 talks and presentations at scientific conferences, universities, and public events around the world, and is regularly interviewed by major news outlets, such as the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, CNN, and NPR. He has a following of over 100,000 across social media, where he shares climate data visualizations that are freely available and widely used by journalists, educators, and policymakers.
The 2026 New York State Salt Summit, presented by the Times Union on October 8th at the Crowne Plaza Albany - the Desmond Hotel by IHG, aims to address how winters have changed and how municipalities must adapt their practices and approaches accordingly. Excessive road salt use especially can pose health and ecological risks. The Salt Summit's 'Changing Winters' panel featuring Paul Caiano and Dr. Zack Labe will be a highlight of the Summit and is not to be missed!
