Experts said the NWS did a good job warning about the flooding, but questions remain about whether the cuts played a role.

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

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer asked the Department of Commerce's acting inspector general Monday to probe whether staffing vacancies at the NWS's San Antonio office contributed to "delays, gaps, or diminished accuracy" in forecasting the flooding. He asked the watchdog to scrutinize the office's communications with Kerr County officials.

The National Weather Service issued timely alerts, meteorologists say, but few were listening in the hours before the early-morning flash floods along the Guadalupe River

Local officials warned the number of dead will likely rise and were due to give an update on Sunday morning, as search and rescue teams raced to find 27 girls missing from a camp near the Guadalupe River,

Search efforts continue for a fourth day with more than 80 people confirmed dead following flash floods in central Texas.