The finger pointing has begun in Texas — and as tempting as it is to blame the gutting of the National Weather Service, that seems to be a mistake.
Per The Eyewall, which has a good write-up of what we know so far:
Flash flood warnings were issued for areas before midnight as radar rain totals began to inflate up and over 3 to 4 inches. A flash flood emergency was issued at 4 AM for the Kerrville storms and 4:15 AM for storms near San Angelo. Rain totals were estimated to be encroaching on 10 inches at that point. So there was warning.
Issuing the warning is half the process. Were the warnings received and acted on? That’s another story. And that will also come out in the days ahead.
Did budget cuts play a role?
No. In this particular case, we have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that current staffing or budget issues within NOAA & the NWS played any role at all in this event. Anyone using this event to claim that is being dishonest.
Much more here:
https://theeyewall.com/making-sense-of-the-weather-that-led-to-a-horrible-texas-flooding-tragedy-plus-tropical-storm-chantal/
