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.

Some have argued the Trump administration's NWS cuts led to a forecast that underestimated the amount of rain in Kerr County, Texas.

Forecasters warn that slow-moving storms could bring heavy downpours to already saturated areas, increasing the risk of flash flooding.

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.

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.

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.

In the aftermath of deadly Hill Country flooding, Texas’ junior U.S. Senator is defending the National Weather Service, as questions surface over the agency’s forecast timing, urgency and communication.