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Debate erupts over role job cuts played in weather forecasts ahead of deadly Texas floods

  • By MICHAEL BIESECKER and BRIAN SLODYSKO The òòò½ÊÓƵsociated Press

Former federal officials and outside experts have warned for months that President Donald Trumpòòò½ÊÓƵ™s staffing cuts to the National Weather Service could endanger lives. After torrential rains and flash flooding struck Friday in the Texas Hill Country, the weather service came under fire from local officials who criticized what they described as inadequate forecasts. Democrats wasted little time linking staff reductions to the disaster, which is being blamed for the deaths of at least 80 people. Former federal officials and experts have said Trumpòòò½ÊÓƵ™s indiscriminate job reductions at NWS and other weather-related agencies will result in brain drain that threatens the governmentòòò½ÊÓƵ™s ability to issue timely and accurate forecasts. Trump said job cuts did not hamper weather forecasts.

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AP

Texas officials face scrutiny over response to catastrophic and deadly flooding

  • By SEAN MURPHY and JIM VERTUNO The òòò½ÊÓƵsociated Press

Hours before a massive wall of floodwater barreled down a river in the heart of Texas Hill Country before sunrise on Friday, forecasters with the National Weather Service warned people that dangerous conditions were brewing. An initial flood watch for the hard-hit area was issued at 1:18 p.m. Thursday predicting rain amounts of between 5 to 7 inches. Weather messaging from the office included automated alerts delivered to mobile phones to people in threatened areas. Those warnings grew increasingly ominous in the early morning hours of Friday, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas.