Texas, Trump and national weather service
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Dallas faces a flood watch from the NWS due to potential heavy rains and thunderstorms amid high temperatures.
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.
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.
“Hope is not a plan": Texas meteorologist talks the forecast preceding the deadly Hill Country flood
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.
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.
Follow for live updates in the Texas flooding as more than 173 are missing as rescuers continue a desperate search