Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 12:03     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m sure it was Trumps fault when it flooded in 1936, 1952, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1987, 1991, and 1997 right?

Are you aware that technology and forecasting have improved tremendously since 1997? It's a shame that too many people who had access to that technology were fired from their jobs.


And this flood and the others in the last 25 years have been much more intense and catastrophic than in years prior. That's the contribution from climate change.


Or the fact that we’ve paved over the whole area in 25 years…
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 11:46     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure it was Trumps fault when it flooded in 1936, 1952, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1987, 1991, and 1997 right?



No one is saying the flooding was his fault. The question, which hasn't been answered fully yet, is whether or not the warning systems or forecasting data were insufficient due to Trump's cuts.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 11:27     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’m sure it was Trumps fault when it flooded in 1936, 1952, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1987, 1991, and 1997 right?

Are you aware that technology and forecasting have improved tremendously since 1997? It's a shame that too many people who had access to that technology were fired from their jobs.


And this flood and the others in the last 25 years have been much more intense and catastrophic than in years prior. That's the contribution from climate change.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 11:17     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You people are gross.

The Guadalupe River is big, not unlike the Potomac, albeit Potomac in the D.C. section is a tidal river. Imagine the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, and tributaries within one hour experiencing rain and flash floods to a similar magnitude. Do you think all the nearby structures/camps/park activities would survive this type of catastrophic flooding in our densely built-up area?


This is not about stopping the flood. It’s about evacuating the floodplain.


Sometimes I wonder why bother explaining. All these damn cooks in the kitchen and half of them are robots that don’t eat the food being prepared anyway.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 11:15     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A big part of what the NWS does is liaise with local (state, county, city) emergency management officials. Local NWS staff who manage those relationships in this part of Texas took the DRP in April, per the NYTimes.

Your accurate weather prediction is as only as effective as your ability to warn the right people at the right time. When you lose senior folks with the relationships, it takes time to be build back institutional capacity.

An automated alarm system along the river communities (similar to tornado warning sirens) has been debated for a long time, according to the NYTs. Local officials confirmed that it wasn’t installed because taxpayers would get upset by the spending.

You get what you vote for.


Good post. I’m not sure we will ever be able to say that this unfathomable tragedy was caused by NOAA cuts - but what seems certain is that preventing future weather catastrophes requires investment and not gutting the system.



And here’s the thing: it’s not even about 600 cuts. The real issue is when you lose the one or two critical individuals who are missing when the incident happens. Even if the Trump admin only cut two jobs at the NWS, if those two jobs were in this area when the disaster struck….its still the fault of the administration.

You need to be very strategic about cutting for efficiency. The Trump admin and DOGE has NOT been strategic. And now the chickens are coming home to roost for elite Republicans in Texas.

This tragedy was also indicative of a uniquely Texas problem. Adherence to 100 year tradition probably kept them from moving this cabins. Anti tax sentiments prevented them from installing an automated warning system for flash floods. General climate change skepticism likely leads to individuals not taking the warnings seriously. Anti government sentiments among Texan elites leads to collective action failures with deadly consequences.

Texas has a fundamental problem that is cultural. Until the culture changes, the hits will keeps coming for Texas. “All hat, no cattle” among the stewards of Texas culture.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 11:15     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A big part of what the NWS does is liaise with local (state, county, city) emergency management officials. Local NWS staff who manage those relationships in this part of Texas took the DRP in April, per the NYTimes.

Your accurate weather prediction is as only as effective as your ability to warn the right people at the right time. When you lose senior folks with the relationships, it takes time to be build back institutional capacity.

An automated alarm system along the river communities (similar to tornado warning sirens) has been debated for a long time, according to the NYTs. Local officials confirmed that it wasn’t installed because taxpayers would get upset by the spending.

You get what you vote for.


Good post. I’m not sure we will ever be able to say that this unfathomable tragedy was caused by NOAA cuts - but what seems certain is that preventingt future weather catastrophes requires investment and not gutting the system.



Preventing ANY catastrophe requires “investment” and “not gutting the system”. Thats why people have been in such an uproar about how this administration has been making cuts without solid strategic thinking and due diligence.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 11:12     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:You people are gross.

The Guadalupe River is big, not unlike the Potomac, albeit Potomac in the D.C. section is a tidal river. Imagine the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, and tributaries within one hour experiencing rain and flash floods to a similar magnitude. Do you think all the nearby structures/camps/park activities would survive this type of catastrophic flooding in our densely built-up area?


We get flash flood warnings and take immediate action. Have you seen the pictures of Old Town Alexandria during storms, where people are kayaking in the streets?
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 10:59     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Of course it could have made a difference. Forecasters were fired by DOGE and so there was not a timely affective warning. People would have evacuated sooner and so lives would not be lost. Cuts to services like this matter.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 10:55     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Doesn't matter. 77 million people don't care. If Trump wanted these cuts, then they must be good.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 10:13     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:A big part of what the NWS does is liaise with local (state, county, city) emergency management officials. Local NWS staff who manage those relationships in this part of Texas took the DRP in April, per the NYTimes.

Your accurate weather prediction is as only as effective as your ability to warn the right people at the right time. When you lose senior folks with the relationships, it takes time to be build back institutional capacity.

An automated alarm system along the river communities (similar to tornado warning sirens) has been debated for a long time, according to the NYTs. Local officials confirmed that it wasn’t installed because taxpayers would get upset by the spending.

You get what you vote for.


Good post. I’m not sure we will ever be able to say that this unfathomable tragedy was caused by NOAA cuts - but what seems certain is that preventing future weather catastrophes requires investment and not gutting the system.

Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 10:06     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure it was Trumps fault when it flooded in 1936, 1952, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1987, 1991, and 1997 right?

Are you aware that technology and forecasting have improved tremendously since 1997? It's a shame that too many people who had access to that technology were fired from their jobs.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 09:38     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Certainly didn't help.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 09:11     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:You people are gross.

The Guadalupe River is big, not unlike the Potomac, albeit Potomac in the D.C. section is a tidal river. Imagine the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, and tributaries within one hour experiencing rain and flash floods to a similar magnitude. Do you think all the nearby structures/camps/park activities would survive this type of catastrophic flooding in our densely built-up area?


This is not about stopping the flood. It’s about evacuating the floodplain.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 09:06     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

Anonymous wrote:Last September Helene killed 108 people and 7 are still missing. Where was the outrage at NOAA then while $hit for brains Brandon did nothing?


Biden didn’t fire the weather service. Flash flood warnings and watches were issued. Some people died because their employers would not let them leave until it was too late. Floods happen. This thread is about firing the weather service people who forecast them.
Anonymous
Post 07/06/2025 09:03     Subject: Did Trump's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service impact predicting the flash floods in central Texas?

A big part of what the NWS does is liaise with local (state, county, city) emergency management officials. Local NWS staff who manage those relationships in this part of Texas took the DRP in April, per the NYTimes.

Your accurate weather prediction is as only as effective as your ability to warn the right people at the right time. When you lose senior folks with the relationships, it takes time to be build back institutional capacity.

An automated alarm system along the river communities (similar to tornado warning sirens) has been debated for a long time, according to the NYTs. Local officials confirmed that it wasn’t installed because taxpayers would get upset by the spending.

You get what you vote for.