Texas, Trump and national weather service
Digest more
Death toll rises in Texas with 173 still missing
Digest more
Trump’s NOAA pick pledges full weather service staffing
Digest more
Q: Is it true that if President Donald Trump hadn’t defunded the National Weather Service, the death toll in the Texas flooding would have been far lower or nonexistent? A: The Trump administration did not defund the NWS but did reduce the staff by 600 people.
Heavy rain and isolated flash flooding are possible this weekend in North Texas. Before storms later in the weekend, conditions will be warm and humid on Friday, July 11, according to the National Weather Service Fort Worth. Temperatures will be in the low to mid-90s, with heat index values in the triple digits.
For years, employees say, they've had to do more with less. But the ability to fill in the gaps became strained to the breaking point when the Trump administration began pushing new staffing cuts.
Deadly flood in Texas sparks a debate over whether recent cuts and staffing shortages led to a greater loss of life.
After deadly floodwaters swept through Central Texas, there are questions about the timeline of weather alerts and possible gaps in the warning system.
While the chances of having an event similar to what had occurred in Texas are significantly lower, it raised a question about staffing at local National Weather Service (NWS) offices. Southcentral Kentucky is observed by two NWS offices: Paducah and Louisville.
Cuts to the National Weather Service has ignited debate about the agency's ability to respond to emergency weather events, like the Hill Country floods.
The tragic deaths after flooding in Texas show you can’t put a price on emergency infrastructure and disaster preparation, writes Armstrong Williams.