KERRVILLE, TEXAS — Texas is looking at beefing up the state’s extreme weather forecasting, after the National Weather Service struggled to predict the July 4 flooding that left at least 138 people dead.
The unnamed storm that caused the floods — dumping 2 to 4 inches of water per hour in some areas — was inherently difficult for forecasting models to predict, experts in meteorology and hydrology told Texas lawmakers at a special hearing on flooding.
But it could have been easier, they said, if the state itself collected better data from the atmosphere, ground and waterways. An initial investment of $20 million, they said at the hearing Thursday, would improve state tracking of dangerous weather.
The experts said improved tracking would complement the National Weather Service and could be a backstop if extreme weather elsewhere draws federal resources away from Texas.
