The U.S. Commerce Department will review if National Weather Service vacancies affected its response to floods in Texas.
SAN ANTONIO — Responding to Rep. Joaquin Castro and several other congressional Democrats from Texas, the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a letter that it will review whether positional vacancies at the National Weather Service have “impacted the agency’s ability to effectively respond to high-impact weather events”—including the recent floods that devastated the Hill Country.
The letter, sent by Duane Townsend, acting inspector general for the Commerce Department, noted the federal government has found “persistent workforce issues within NWS” for the past few years, as well as hiring challenges exacerbating “workloads, burnout and increased turnover.”
Castro, Rep. Greg Casar of Austin, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Houston, Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso and others sent letters in the days after the July Fourth floods requesting such an investigation into NWS staffing shortages.
In February, hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status were fired, a result of efforts by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to shrink the federal workforce. Later, in May, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Houston sounded the alarm on how NWS vacancies and federal budget cuts were compromising readiness levels just ahead of hurricane season.
Fletcher also requested an investigation in the aftermath of the Hill Country floods which have killed at least 116 in the Kerr County area alone. In the letter from Castro and Crockett, the lawmakers noted that a longtime employee at the NWS Austin/San Antonio office who had been working as warning coordination meteorologist retired early “as part of the Trump administration’s effort to cut the NOAA Workforce.”
Townsend said his office had already been preparing an audit into NWS field office effectiveness amid the changes. Now, he said, “we are initiating this work.”
The government is also launching a separate investigation into the factors of the Central Texas floods specifically, including NWS actions and responses during the weather disaster.
“The report from this review will provide factual details and serve to inform the previously mentioned audit of greater NWS operational needs, which could result in findings and recommendations,” Townsend wrote.
The acting inspector general didn’t provide an estimate timeline on how long the investigation may take.