Trump’s NOAA pick pledges full weather service staffing
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Thomas Fahy, the Office Legislative Director for the National Weather Service Employees Union, says their San Angelo and San Antonio, Texas offices had enough staff to send alerts and warnings to the public before the deadly floods,
A: The Trump administration did not defund the NWS but did reduce the staff by 600 people. Those staffing cuts did not cause the high number of deaths in the flash floods on July 4, experts said. Local forecasting offices were sufficiently staffed and issued timely warnings.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem addressed the deadly Texas flood, promising to upgrade "ancient" National Weather Service systems for better early warnings.
Amid criticism of budget cuts at NWS, Sen. Ted Cruz defended the agency, saying meteorologists did their job and were not short-staffed during the early morning hours of July Fourth.
The National Weather Service issued several forecasts Tuesday through Thursday morning, warning of the risk of flash flooding.
The National Weather Service in Portland certainly has their hands full, monitoring everything from potential wildfires and tsunamis to flooding and earthquakes.