Texas Observer issued a warning the day prior to catastrophic flooding in San Angelo and communities around Kerrville, Texas. Texas officials raised the question as to how DOGE cuts impacted National Weather Service operations. The Independent reported:
“The original forecast that we received Wednesday from the National Weather Service predicted 3-6 inches of rain in the Concho Valley and 4-8 inches in the Hill Country,” he said at a press conference Friday.
“The amount of rain that fell at this specific location was never in any of those forecasts.” Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said that “no one knew this kind of flood was coming.”
"Flood Emergency" warnings for life threatening flash flooding went out in the early morning hours when most people were asleep.
Despite the cuts, nearby NWS offices had “adequate staffing” during the storms, CNN reports. However, centers were missing a few key employees due to early retirement incentives offered by the Trump administration in an effort to reduce the government’s workforce.
The Austin-San Antonio office was missing a warning coordination meteorologist — who helps link forecasters with local emergency managers — while the San Angelo office was missing a meteorologist-in-charge, according to CNN.Texas officials will examine the facts and share their conclusions with the public at some point. Texans will be observing.
Update 7-8-25: Texas Senator Ted Cruz was on vacation in Greece over the July 4th holiday when tragedy struck. I did not realize Tea Party candidates left the U.S. for our Independence Day celebrations. Cruz played a direct role in federal funding cuts around weather warnings.
USA Today reported the Texas Department of Emergency Management declined Kerr County's grant application for an early warning system in 2017 and again in 2018. The County:
asked for $1 million to build a flood warning system that would have upgraded 20 water gauge systems, added new water level sensors and posts, and created software and a website to distribute that information to the public in real-time.Local leaders have been trying to get an early warning system for years.
Update 12-6-25: The 911 calls to Kerrville Emergency Dispatch were made public. The calls reveal increasing desperation and peril. The calls from the 911 center to Emergency Management Officials are yet to be released.
Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas had been on medical leave after heart surgery but returned to work on November 10th. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly is looking to hire help for Thomas. The top three Kerr County officials continue to cover for each other and they are yet to produce/share an after action report.
Update 12-7-25: Concho Valley Homepage ran the 911 call story.
Update 4-15-26: A director of Camp Mystic testified that he:
"had not seen the official weather warnings before the storm, did not convene a staff meeting about the potential flooding and acknowledged that the camp did not have a detailed, written flood evacuation plan."The cascade of ignorance and lack of preparation was widespread in Kerr County.
Update 4-20-26: Texas Tribune reported Camp Mystic's security guard testified as to events that evening/early morning:
The security guard at Camp Mystic the night of last year’s deadly flood acknowledged Wednesday that if a general evacuation order came early in the storm, lives could’ve been saved.
Update 4-22-26: KXAN reported:
According to the House’s resolution, the committee would be tasked with investigating contributing factors, allocation of resources, effectiveness of preparedness and effectiveness of response and coordination between local, state and federal entities. The Senate’s resolution called for a broader “complete and thorough examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding the flooding events.”
So how did this broad mandate get reduced to summer camps? It appears there may never be an assessment of Kerr County emergency official's response (non-response) to the disaster.
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