National Weather Service, Texas and flood watch
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Numerous scattered showers and storms will continue in the area through Sunday, with pockets of heavy rain and an increase in the risk for flash flooding.
DOGE cut hundreds of jobs at the NWS, but experts who spoke to WIRED say the agency accurately predicted the state's weekend flood risk.
Experts said warnings issued in the run-up to this weekend’s flooding were as timely and accurate as possible, but questions about whether the alerts reached people most at risk remain.
Some experts say staff shortages might have complicated forecasters’ ability to coordinate responses with local emergency management officials.
"A lot of the weather forecast offices now are not operating at full complement of staff," said the former lead of NOAA.
Forecasters warn that slow-moving storms could bring heavy downpours to already saturated areas, increasing the risk of flash flooding.
Staffing issues at the National Weather Service in Tucson could be impacting the accuracy of monsoon storm predictions, according to a former University of Arizona atmospheric science