"A lot of the weather forecast offices now are not operating at full complement of staff," said the former lead of NOAA.

Weather models that meteorologists use to predict thunderstorm activity and heavy precipitation suggested on Thursday the possibility of 10 inches of rain — and even as much as 20 inches — across

State and local officials are calling out federal forecasters amid deadly flooding in the Texas Hill Country over the extended Fourth of July weekend. The criticism comes, as funding cuts and staff shortages plague the National Weather Service and other emergency management agencies nationwide.