Science Weekly Texas floods and forecasting cuts: a sign of things to come?
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Jul 9, 2025 Eric Holthaus, a meteorologist and climate journalist, joins to discuss the recent catastrophic floods in Texas and the troubling implications of funding cuts to US weather agencies. He highlights how drought conditions and tropical cyclones are intertwining to create severe weather events. Holthaus emphasizes the critical need for effective communication during emergencies and how failures in public notification systems can have tragic consequences. The conversation raises alarm over the challenges in meteorology as climate change accelerates extreme weather patterns.
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Extreme Texas Flooding Event
- Central Texas experienced extreme flooding from a stalled tropical cyclone with near record Gulf waters.
- Water rose 30 feet in an hour, surpassing Niagara Falls flow, surprising everyone with its severity.
Last Mile Problem in Alerts
- The "last mile problem" in US emergency alerts causes warnings to sometimes not reach the public effectively.
- Notification depends on county officials, and outdated methods like driving with a loudspeaker were used in this flood.
Use Multiple Warning Methods
- People need to receive emergency messages through multiple channels like TV, radio, sirens, and phone alerts.
- Not all counties have comprehensive warning systems, and outdoor sirens could have helped avert deaths in this flood.