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

Officials in Texas are facing mounting questions about whether they did enough to get people out of harm’s way before a flash flood swept down the Guadalupe River and killed more than 100 people, including at least 27 children and counselors at an all-girls Christian camp.

The first weather emergency alert sent by the National Weather Service with urgent language instructing people to "seek higher ground now" was sent at 4:03 a.m. local time.