State and local officials are calling out federal forecasters amid deadly flooding in the Texas Hill Country over the extended Fourth of July weekend. The criticism comes, as funding cuts and staff shortages plague the National Weather Service ...
The scale of the disaster in Texas Hill County -- and the fact that major flooding is common in this part of the state -- has raised questions over whether more could have been done to warn people in the path of the flood waters.
-- Texas Tribune (@texastribune.org) Jul 5, 2025 at 4:32 PM
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As Floods Hit, Key Roles Were Vacant at Weather Service Offices in Texas
Some experts say staff shortages might have complicated forecasters' ability to coordinate responses with local emergency management officials.
Crucial positions at the local offices of the National Weather Service were unfilled as severe rainfall inundated parts of Central Texas on Friday morning, prompting some experts to question whether staffing shortages made it harder for the forecasting agency to coordinate with local emergency managers as floodwaters rose.
Texas officials appeared to blame the Weather Service for issuing forecasts on Wednesday that underestimated how much rain was coming. But former Weather Service officials said the forecasts were as good as could be expected, given the enormous levels of rainfall and the storm's unusually abrupt escalation.
The staffing shortages suggested a separate problem, those former officials said " the loss of experienced people who would typically have helped communicate with local authorities in the hours after flash flood warnings were issued overnight.
Why weren't emergency alerts sent out to every cell phone like local authorities do here in my city?
The weather service is a vital national security organization whose only mission is the protection of lives and property. And it has been underfunded for decades.
Not only have they been underfunded they have had to work with continuing resolutions and no budget at all for many years while Congress fights over the budget and closes the government. In addition to the constant anti science attacks from republicans in denial of climate change. And then Trumpy comes along and guts them like a fish.
This result was all predicted many times over. And expect more of the same while we continue to enjoy Mr Toads Wild Ride. (Ver 2.0)
The forecasters in the NWS offices are "community experts" who have close working relationships with emergency managers, school districts and other local decision-makers, Becker says. Without those proactive efforts, "you're basically watching the storm," Uccellini says.
How Trump's National Weather Service Cuts Could Cost Lives
www.scientificamerican.com
After deadly Texas floods, calls rise for better warnings
www.csmonitor.com
... As many as 10 children were still missing late Sunday, nearly three days after the Guadalupe River in south-central Texas rose 26 feet in less than an hour and raged through a summer camp and down a valley popular with vacationers. ...[emphasis mine]
The storm intensified overnight, so the most urgent warnings from the National Weather Service came in the early morning hours as people slept. ...
@#23 ... This is a multi-level failure, and a few dozen kids paid the price for it. ...
What early warnings did flood-hit Texas receive?
www.bbc.com
... Judge Rob Kelly, the top elected official in Kerr County, told the BBC's US partner CBS News that the severity of the flooding had been unexpected.
"We had no reason to believe that this was gonna be any, anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever," Kelly said. ...
What flood warnings were issued and when?
The flash floods began on Thursday night and continued into Friday morning, with meteorologists saying several months' worth of rain fell in just a few hours.
In the space of 45 minutes in the early hours of Friday morning, the Guadalupe River rose by 26ft (8m), causing it to burst its banks.
By then there had been several flood warnings issued:
- - - On Wednesday, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) activated state emergency response resources because of "increased threats of flooding" in parts of west and central Texas
- - - On Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flood watch that highlighted Kerr County, central Texas, as a place at high risk of flash flooding overnight
- - - At 01:14 local time (06:14 GMT) on Friday a flash flood warning was issued for Kerr County
- - - At 04:03 local time (09:30 GMT) an emergency flash flood warning was issued for Kerr County, followed by another for the Guadalupe River at 05:34
Was there a failure to warn people?
The NWS has defended itself, saying it was heartbroken at the loss but that it did all it could, conducting briefings on Thursday and issuing a flood watch warning that afternoon.
"The forecasting was good. The warnings were good. It's always about getting people to receive the message," Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist based in Wisconsin, told NBC News. "It appears that is one of the biggest contributors - that last mile."
People have reported receiving text message alerts on their mobile phones early on Friday morning, warning them of flooding. Some residents told the New York Times they did not understand the seriousness of them and others said they never received any at all.
Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, told reporters: "You have areas where there is no cell phone coverage, plus some coverage.
"It doesn't matter how many alert systems you sign up for, you're not going to get that."
The public can also get desensitised if it believes it is receiving too many weather warnings, said Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice, according to the Associated Press.
He said he didn't notice any problems and that it was only raining lightly at 03:30 Friday when he went jogging along the Guadalupe River trail.
But by 05:20, the water had risen so fast "we almost weren't able to get out of the park," he said.
Judge Kelly said there is no county-administered warning system in the area because such systems are expensive. ...
Texas turned down a $1,000,000 grant for Kerr County to install sirens along the Guadalupe River, which is known for flash floods.
All while slashing property taxes in the state by $51 billion.
Texas has a growing backlog of flood management projects, totaling some $54 billion across the state. The state flood plan of the Texas Water Development Board called on lawmakers to dedicate additional funding to invest in potentially lifesaving infrastructure.
But lawmakers have so far allocated only a fraction of the money needed for flood projects through the state's Flood Infrastructure Fund, about $669 million so far, even as state lawmakers this year approved $51 billion in property tax cuts.
Kerr County, in its earlier discussions about a warning system, had explored along with other members of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority the possibility of applying for financial support through the infrastructure fund. But the authority dropped the idea after learning that the fund would provide only about 5 percent of the money needed for the project.
After deadly Texas floods, calls rise for better warnings
How about not permitting people to build cabins in a flood zone (Camp Mystic).
In San Diego there are flood zones where you can't build domiciles. So the rich build golf courses, and horse ranches.
FEMA has a website: msc.fema.gov
Devastating Texas Floods Shattered 93-Year Record
www.newsweek.com
... The catastrophic floods that hit central Texas over the weekend caused the Guadalupe River to flood so high it broke a 93-year-old record by nearly a foot.
Newsweek reached out to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Austin, which is the forecast region for Hunt, Texas, where the record was set, by phone for comment.
Why It Matters
On Friday, the NWS issued urgent warnings to people across central Texas amid heavy downpours that resulted in months' worth of rain at once, prompting the Guadalupe River to surge around 25 feet in only 45 minutes. ...
#44: 'Gohan' is the term our family uses for rice. I cook with Japanese ingredients whenever possible. My late mother learned to make sushi and sashimi from the Japanese nearly one century ago. The "San Francisco treat' is not what I prepared: i5.walmartimages.com
River Flooding Expected In Kerr County Over Weekend (2023)
kerrcountytx.gov
... Heavy rainfall is expected to fall in multiple rounds over Kerr County and the Hill Country this weekend, dumping enough precipitation that forecasters anticipate flash flooding of the Guadalupe River and other waterways.
"Dominoes are falling as expected ... parameters for a widespread, heavy rainfall event are coming together, with the rainfall threat ramping up Friday evening and into the weekend," reported Greg Waller, a service coordination hydrologist with the West Gulf River Forecast Center update this morning. ...
Guadalupe River Rises in Kerrville (2018)
spectrumlocalnews.com
... Recent heavy rains have caused localized flooding on city streets, streams and rivers -- like the Guadalupe River -- spilling its banks at Louise Hays Park.
Officials with the City of Kerrville continue to monitor changing weather conditions and major flooding.
Throughout Tuesday, authorities alerted residents of the Guadalupe River rising. The river crested sometime between 11:30 a.m. and noon. ...
#36: I have a special section in my library for my Immanuel Velikovky (who taught at Princeton University) and Erich von Daniken books.
One serious academic book suggestion if I may, written by a scholar, former US Senator, presidential advisor, and US Ambassador to the UN: m.media-amazon.com
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