Beleaguered Weather Service defends its forecasts as Texas officials point fingers over flood warnings

[lostnfound]

8. I did not realize that weather balloons (many cancelled) were also important for assessing flooding potential

Presumably the people making decisions in the Trump administration didn’t know that either.

Shall we start a GoFundMe to pay for weather balloons and emergency coordinators?

Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the NWS employees’ union, told CNN that while he believes the offices had “adequate staffing and resources,” the Austin-San Antonio office is missing a warning coordination meteorologist — a role that serves as a crucial, direct link between forecasters and emergency managers.

This vacancy in the Austin-San Antonio office, along with other key roles, were the result of early retirement incentives offered by the Trump administration to shrink the size of the federal government, a NOAA official told CNN

Somewhere out there, i imagine there’s a nice meteorologist / coordinator who feels horrible, but I hope he or she knows that this was the fault of 1) the man in the Oval Office, 2) the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025, and big money PACs who despise the idea of government For The People or the common good, and 3) the sociopaths and liars who thrive on power or dismiss the need for “climate resilience” and mitigation strategies.