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.

President Donald Trump on Friday defended the National Weather Service’s advanced warnings of the heavy rainfall that caused catastrophic flooding in central Texas last week, killing over 120 people.

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.

Key positions at National Weather Service offices across Texas are vacant, sowing doubt over the state’s ability to respond to natural disasters as rescuers comb through the flood-ravaged Hill Country.

Renowned Texas meteorologist Troy Kimmel spoke on Inside Texas Politics about the forecast preceding the deadly flooding in the Hill Country.

Deadly flood in Texas sparks a debate over whether recent cuts and staffing shortages led to a greater loss of life.

We looked back and found the forecasts and flood alerts sent out by the National Weather Service in San Antonio and Austin.

As a climate scientist who calls Texas home, I can tell you that the Hill Country of Texas is no stranger to flooding. Meteorologists often refer to it as “Flash Flood Alley” because of its steep terrain, shallow soils, and its history of sudden and intense rainfall.