Texas storm brings Trump’s National Weather Service to the Focus

During the July 4 holiday, the deadly storm destroyed Texas’ villa country with months of rain in a few hours, leaving muddy trees, a deep mud and heartbroken patch of mud and heartbroken Hundreds of people are missing or missing.

They also focus on the U.S. government’s ability to warn and protect residents from weather disasters.

Strong rainfall and flash flooding are the deadliest weather disasters in the United States since President Donald Trump’s administration carried out mass layoffs In two important weather and climate institutions: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization (NOAA) and its subsidiary National Weather Service (NWS).

Experts say The National Weather Administration issued an alarm The fatal incidents are promptly warned on weekends, namely what might happen if the NWS and NOAA do not have proper staffing and funding in the future.

“The Meteorological Services are doing a great job of information you are here,” said climate scientist Andy Hazelton.

“But this is something we can see more events if your cuts continue, if you make the model worse or the staffing level is lower.”

The agency has taken a major blow.

Tom Fahy, legislative director of the National Meteorological Services staff organization, said that since February, the Meteorological Bureau has lost about 600 employees through shooting, through early retirement and postponement of resignation.

Mr Faxi said the cuts hit every corner of the agency, from meteorologists to technicians to hydrologists who specialize in flooding.

“We have lost the brain power of our full staff and the national weather service,” he said.

Mr Fahy told the BBC that several offices across the country operate far below the traditional staffing level of meteorologists.

He said generally, there are at least 13 such scientists in the NWS office. Offices in Goodland, Kansas and Hanford, California have 61.5% vacancy rates, according to NWSEO Union data. The vacancy rate for offices for meteorologists in Amarillo, Texas is 30.77%, and the rate for Rapid City, South Dakota is 46.15%.

“The staffing has to be increased, we have to do it nationwide, and we need more people to do it,” Faxi said. “You can’t run a weather forecast office in naked bone surgery. Too many things are threatened, too many lives are threatened.”

According to a public role on its website, the San Antonio office played a leading role in predicting a deadly rainstorm last week, with a total vacancy rate of about 22%.

NWS spokeswoman Erica Grow said in a statement that “there are other forecasts for duty during the catastrophic flooding incident.”

Volunteers who worked with the San Antonio Meteorological Bureau to spread alerts in the community said limited personnel would not cause disaster immediately.

“They are used to a lot of things,” the volunteer said. The volunteer asked to be anonymous because he was worried about revenge.

“But I do think they might not say anything publicly, they might want those people back.”

Volunteers pointed to a noteworthy exit: Paul Yura, a warning coordination meteorologist, accepted an early retirement proposal from the Trump administration in April.

The role is an important weather service and community liaison, coordinated with local emergency personnel and volunteers to help prepare for bad weather.

“He is our mentor, he is the person we will talk to us,” the volunteer said, explaining that without Mr. Yura, the volunteers had no designated person in the emergency.

In June, the Trump administration said that despite the federal recruitment freeze, the NW will allow the NWS to hire more than 100 new positions.

However, there are more cuts that may be on the way.

According to FedEx News, NOAA proposes to cut its budget by about $1.8 billion in fiscal year 2026.

The proposed budget states that “NWS continues to conduct operational forecasts, warnings, impact-based decision support services, and other life-saving products and services, prepare for emergency management communities and the public and respond to increasingly frequent severe weather and water events”.

However, the proposal also “eliminates all funding from NOAA’s climate, weather and marine laboratories and cooperative agencies”.

Mr Hazelton, who now works at the University of Miami, said NOAA continues to study more accurate weather and climate models, which is crucial for public safety.

For example, higher resolution weather models predict extreme rainfall bags in Texas before the storm — but it is well known that determining location and timing on such events is difficult. The question about the aftermath of the disaster has been rotated How residents on flood roads warn faster.

“That’s why we need to invest and research in NOAA, so we can predict these extreme events,” Mr Hazelton said.

He also stressed the need to provide adequate work for the NWS office so that meteorologists and scientists do not burn, especially during the U.S. hurricane season.

The prospect of future cuts is also concerned about NWS volunteers – living in flood-prone areas.

“Mother Nature is a tricky deal. She will do everything she can, and that’s bad enough that you don’t have that advantage in the first place.