Editorials & Other Articles

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(126,060 posts) Sun Jul 6, 2025, 02:09 PM Jul 6

Ron Filipkowski - We Make NO APOLOGIES For Being 1st to Connect NWS Cuts & Texas Tragedy

We make NO APOLOGIES for being the first media outlet to report that local Texas officials were pointing fingers at the National Weather Service for a faulty forecast and noting that dozens of experts and scientists have been warning for months that Trump’s draconian cuts to NOAA and the NWS were going to lead to serious problems and greater loss of life during the summer storm season.

As readers of my daily Bulletins know well, I have included quotes from these experts from multiple media outlets in the column many, many times over the past several months. Was NWS at fault in some way in Texas? Was it just the Texas officials trying to pass the buck? Maybe one, maybe the other, maybe both. But we were not going to allow yet another natural disaster on Trump’s watch with huge loss of life to get swept under the rug again, while he dismantles FEMA and the agencies tasked with warning and informing the public are decimated, without serious questions being asked.

We also were not going to let Trump and the MAGA propaganda machine to set the narrative on this as they have done so many times in the past over many years with little to no response by Democrats.

This also comes after we endured 4 years of Trump and Republicans blaming Biden using lies and disinformation after every single natural disaster, train derailment, war overseas between other countries, on an on. They blamed Biden for everything despite zero evidence and used a firehose of lies, fake videos, and coordinated disinformation. We did our best to fight it, but honestly we didn’t have much help from the Biden admin pushing back because too often their strategy was to just ignore it. But you can’t ignore it because it is like a cancer that just spreads and gets worse if you do.

https://www.meidasplus.com/p/we-make-no-apologies-for-being-1st

8 replies

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Highlight:

Ron Filipkowski - We Make NO APOLOGIES For Being 1st to Connect NWS Cuts & Texas Tragedy (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Jul 6 OP

Hmmm. I guess you can stand behind 'no apologies' - but does that make stopdiggin Jul 6 #1

The San Antonio office was missing a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster, and meteorologist in charge. Lonestarblue Jul 6 #2

so you are asserting that essential calls were not made? stopdiggin Jul 6 #8

Here you go . . . hatrack Jul 6 #3

NYT this morning... hlthe2b Jul 6 #6

does not really matter Skittles Jul 6 #7

NYT-As Floods Hit, Key Roles Were Vacant at Weather Service Offices in Texas (gift links) LetMyPeopleVote Jul 6 #4

A true American hero -- Gen Honore -- disagrees. Silent Type Jul 6 #5

stopdiggin

(14,031 posts)

1. Hmmm. I guess you can stand behind 'no apologies' - but does that make

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Sun Jul 6, 2025, 02:19 PM

Jul 6

the forecasting involved in this weather event any more (or less) faulty - or ultimately to blame? Reports I've read haven't really supported ...

The cuts to NWS are of course absolutely a bad idea ... But you still need to show where they contributed in this instance ...

Lonestarblue

(12,808 posts)

2. The San Antonio office was missing a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster, and meteorologist in charge.

Reply to stopdiggin (Reply #1)

Sun Jul 6, 2025, 02:42 PM

Jul 6

All fired or accepted early retirement. These are the people who would be on the phone in the middle of the night calling local authorities to inform them of a more serious storm forecast. Those lost hours could have saved lives.

stopdiggin

(14,031 posts)

8. so you are asserting that essential calls were not made?

Reply to Lonestarblue (Reply #2)

Sun Jul 6, 2025, 08:49 PM

Jul 6

Emergency alerts were not put out?

(I won't dispute you on that ... But those are the kind of things that would have to come to fore, before I started linking ... )

hatrack

(63,022 posts)

3. Here you go . . .

Reply to stopdiggin (Reply #1)

Sun Jul 6, 2025, 02:42 PM

Jul 6

EDIT

In Flavelle’s article “As Floods Hit, Key Roles Were Vacant at Weather Service Offices in Texas”, published a few minutes ago, he writes:

Texas officials appeared to blame the Weather Service for issuing forecasts on Wednesday that underestimated how much rain was coming. But former Weather Service officials said the forecasts were as good as could be expected.... The staffing shortages suggested a separate problem, those former officials said — the loss of experienced people who would typically have helped communicate with local authorities in the hours after flash flood warnings were issued overnight.

Flavelle lists several Weather Service positions that are vacant in that part of Texas, including meteorologist in charge, senior hydrologist, staff forecaster, science officer, and warning coordination meteorologist.

That’s right. There was no meteorologist in charge. And there was no warning coordination meteorologist to liaise with county and state officials. The warning job became vacant on April 30 because the person who held it took the early retirement package that Trump and DOGE offered to federal workers in lieu of being fired later. And the Trump administration did not hire a replacement.

EDIT/END

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/5/2327621/-Trump-administration-s-cuts-to-the-National-Weather-Service-contributed-to-the-Texas-flood-disaster?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

hlthe2b

(110,693 posts)

6. NYT this morning...

Reply to stopdiggin (Reply #1)

Sun Jul 6, 2025, 05:22 PM

Jul 6

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100220464288

I hope this is not a trend where we, too let Trump off the hook. There will surely be more identified on this score, but even the lack of experienced officials s) interaction and interphasing with the community, its leaders, its emergency responders facing impacts is most definitely consistent with a contributory impact.

Honestly. Must we whitewash the incompetence of Trump et al. too?

Skittles

(166,076 posts)

7. does not really matter

Reply to stopdiggin (Reply #1)

Sun Jul 6, 2025, 07:02 PM

Jul 6

denial of climate change and gutting agencies that forecast weather is JUST PLAIN FUCKED UP

LetMyPeopleVote

(166,448 posts)

4. NYT-As Floods Hit, Key Roles Were Vacant at Weather Service Offices in Texas (gift links)

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Sun Jul 6, 2025, 03:53 PM

Jul 6

Some experts say staff shortages might have complicated forecasters’ ability to coordinate responses with local emergency management officials.

ðŸš¨ NYT: As Floods Hit, Key Roles Were Vacant at Weather Service Offices in Texas

Some experts say staff shortages might have complicated forecastersâ€™ ability to coordinate responses with local emergency management officials.

Gift link:
— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2025-07-06T04:33:59.776Z

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/05/us/politics/texas-floods-warnings-vacancies.html?unlocked_article_code=1.UU8.Zjkx.evidtrUYt_ZY&smid=tw-share

Crucial positions at the local offices of the National Weather Service were unfilled as severe rainfall inundated parts of Central Texas on Friday morning, prompting some experts to question whether staffing shortages made it harder for the forecasting agency to coordinate with local emergency managers as floodwaters rose.....

The staffing shortages suggested a separate problem, those former officials said — the loss of experienced people who would typically have helped communicate with local authorities in the hours after flash flood warnings were issued overnight.

The shortages are among the factors likely to be scrutinized as the death toll climbs from the floods. Separate questions have emerged about the preparedness of local communities, including Kerr County’s apparent lack of a local flood warning system. The county, roughly 50 miles northwest of San Antonio, is where many of the deaths occurred......

The National Weather Service’s San Angelo office, which is responsible for some of the areas hit hardest by Friday’s flooding, was missing a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster and meteorologist in charge, according to Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, the union that represents Weather Service workers.

The Weather Service’s nearby San Antonio office, which covers other areas hit by the floods, also had significant vacancies, including a warning coordination meteorologist and science officer, Mr. Fahy said. Staff members in those positions are meant to work with local emergency managers to plan for floods, including when and how to warn local residents and help them evacuate.

That office’s warning coordination meteorologist left on April 30, after taking the early retirement package the Trump administration used to reduce the number of federal employees, according to a person with knowledge of his departure......

John Sokich, who until January was director of congressional affairs for the National Weather Service, said those unfilled positions made it harder to coordinate with local officials because each Weather Service office works as a team. “Reduced staffing puts that in jeopardy,” he said......

An equally important question, he added, was how the Weather Service was coordinating with local emergency managers to act on those warnings as they came in.

“You have to have a response mechanism that involves local officials,” Dr. Uccellini said. “It involves a relationship with the emergency management community, at every level.”

But that requires having staff members in those positions, he said......

Typically, Mr. Sokich said, the Weather Service will send an official to meet regularly with local emergency managers for what are called “tabletop operations” — planning ahead of time for what to do in case of a flash flood or other major weather disaster.

But the Trump administration’s pursuit of fewer staff members means remaining employees have less time to spend coordinating with local officials, he said.

I have been through a number of hurricanes/storms including Ike, Allison, Harvey and lately Berly. There were weather service people coordinating with local officials during all of these storms. Here the DOGE and trump cuts meant that the weather service did not have the staff available to coordinate with the local officials.

Silent Type

(10,505 posts)

5. A true American hero -- Gen Honore -- disagrees.

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Sun Jul 6, 2025, 04:59 PM

Jul 6

“LT. GENERAL RUSSEL L. HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): From what I've seen on television, Texas ought to be commended for their response, but they're going to have a lot of questions to answer on why we had a flood watch the night before and why actions weren't taken to move people out, or to provide souring warnings. And then who's responsible in those camps for the evacuation when we are looking at a flood watch before dark, the night before?

My hats off to those magnificent pilots and those on the ground who've gone in and rescued so many over 800 people already, and they've done it in a very extreme situation. But the weather was the issue. But, you know, Erica, Texas is going to have to stand up to this. The same thing happened in 1987 on July 16th, along the same river. And Kerr, and there was a flood. Ten people died in this exact same scenario.

So, Texas is going to have to fix this. People in Texas love to go out and camp. People have been going there for decades, but they're going to have to fix this up because this is a repeat. The same thing happened in 1987 along the Guadalupe River.”

https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/cnr/date/2025-07-06/segment/19

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