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Texas Flash Flood Event July 4, 2025

Might be a good idea to migrate posts over here from the main thread? I'm assuming that'd be a thing mods have to do, so no worries if that's a hassle.

79 are now dead, and 41 are missing. A number of victims are still being identified. 28 children are among the dead. Dunno the exact numbers, but with nearly 80 fatalities, this is presumably one of the deadlier flooding events in recent US history.
www.nbcdfw.com

Live updates: 11 campers still missing; 21 kids among 69 dead in Texas flooding

Search and rescue efforts continue Sunday as the death toll from flooding in Central Texas grew to 69 overnight, including at least 21 children.
www.nbcdfw.com www.nbcdfw.com
www.nbcnews.com

Live updates: At least 79 dead as search efforts intensify after Texas floods

Desperate search for the missing in Texas flood; at least 51 dead
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
 
Clancy said:
Might be a good idea to migrate posts over here from the main thread? I'm assuming that'd be a thing mods have to do, so no worries if that's a hassle.

79 are now dead, and 41 are missing. A number of victims are still being identified. 28 children are among the dead. Dunno the exact numbers, but with nearly 80 fatalities, this is presumably one of the deadlier flooding events in recent US history.
www.nbcdfw.com

Live updates: 11 campers still missing; 21 kids among 69 dead in Texas flooding

Search and rescue efforts continue Sunday as the death toll from flooding in Central Texas grew to 69 overnight, including at least 21 children.
www.nbcdfw.com www.nbcdfw.com
www.nbcnews.com

Live updates: At least 79 dead as search efforts intensify after Texas floods

Desperate search for the missing in Texas flood; at least 51 dead
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
Click to expand...
And there are still >40 missing. Definitely going to be one of the deadlier flooding events in United States history and likely one of the deadliest USWx events in the 2020s.
 
From what I've read and listen to over the last 3 days is, the NWS San Antonio would have normaly had 2 forecasters on the midnight shift, but they brought in "3" extra staff to cover the threat that was evolving, plenty of staff that night.They could have had 15 forecaster's there and still they could not have done anymore to prevent the situation that can be seen in the below graphic or would have saved anymore human lives at 4:00 A.M. in the dead of night.

Human beings can only wake up and react so fast, and this horrible, historic event occured much to fast for any human to respond properly. Sometimes horrifc tragedy happens in this world and theres really not one thing that can stop it. This is not one President's fault, a Democrat, Rebublican, or the NWS fault.It's just the fragility of humanity.All the warnings and technology in the world sometimes is just not enough to save our lives.

My heart is crushed for all the parents of those sweet little Angels that were lost. It's just too hard to comprehend it all really.May God Bless them and comfort them in the days, weeks, and years ahead.



1751841057742.png
 
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Sky_I565 said:
From what I've read and listen to over the last 3 days is, the NWS San Antonio would have normaly had 2 forecasters on the midnight shift, but they brought in "3" extra staff to cover the threat that was evolving, plenty of staff that night.They could have had 15 forecaster's there and still they could not have done anymore to prevent the situation that can be seen in the below graphic or would have saved anymore human lives at 4:00 A.M. in the dead of night.

Human beings can only wake up and react so fast, and this horrible, historic event occured much to fast for any human to respond properly. Sometimes horrifc tragedy happens in this world and theres really not one thing that can stop it. This is not one President's fault, a Democrat, Rebublican, or the NWS fault.It's just the fragility of humanity.All the warnings and technology in the world sometimes is just not enough to save our lives.

My heart is crushed for all the parents of those sweet little Angels that were lost. It's just too hard to comprehend it all really.May God Bless them and comfort them in the days, weeks, and years ahead.



View attachment 44889
Click to expand...
I think also people suffer from not believing until you see it. And with flooding like the video I sent in the severe 2025 thread. At that point your almost too late. I was like that and almost made a dumb decision back during the flooding on Christmas in Birmingham in 2015
 
Sky_I565 said:
From what I've read and listen to over the last 3 days is, the NWS San Antonio would have normaly had 2 forecasters on the midnight shift, but they brought in "3" extra staff to cover the threat that was evolving, plenty of staff that night.They could have had 15 forecaster's there and still they could not have done anymore to prevent the situation that can be seen in the below graphic or would have saved anymore human lives at 4:00 A.M. in the dead of night.

Human beings can only wake up and react so fast, and this horrible, historic event occured much to fast for any human to respond properly. Sometimes horrifc tragedy happens in this world and theres really not one thing that can stop it. This is not one President's fault, a Democrat, Rebublican, or the NWS fault.It's just the fragility of humanity.All the warnings and technology in the world sometimes is just not enough to save our lives.

My heart is crushed for all the parents of those sweet little Angels that were lost. It's just too hard to comprehend it all really.May God Bless them and comfort them in the days, weeks, and years ahead.



View attachment 44889
Click to expand...

It's amazing how many people on the internet are arguing that cuts to the National Weather Service isn't directly connected to less public weather safety. It is literally our public Weather Service. It's so simple and straightforward. It's like saying having less firefighters wouldn't make wildfires harder to contain. More hands on deck always helps, and clearly there weren't enough people to get warnings to proper emergency management teams in time.

5 weather staff isn't enough to cover the 2.4 million people in the 6 counties that were under a flash flood emergency. 15 might not have been either, but it certainly would've been way closer to the right number.
 
TyphoonFreida said:
I don't disagree that the cuts are going to be a general and prevailing problem, and were poorly and hastily thought out.

However.... in this particular case I'm not sure what more the NWS could have done even with a bigger budget or staff? The premise that all these lives would have been saved belies the fact that the infrastructure and drainage/topography of that area is the main issue here and that the timing of this was literally a worst-case-scenario with it occurring between 1am-6am (when everyone is asleep) on a packed river on a holiday weekend.

Pinpoint forecasting for flash flooding can't get more accurate than what the NWS did here. They issued a flash flood warning after 1am and a flash flood emergency at 4am. But with the infrastructure of that area and the speed with which the water rose, 25-30' in less than an hour for the areas around Hunt and Ingram, this was always going to be a very lethal event unfortunately. That's literally a tsunami of water invading an area with limited road access to escape, let alone early in the morning on a holiday when there's thousands of extra people packed into the area. You're just not going to be able to evacuate everyone in the amount of time they had.

The Guadalupe is so flash flood prone that that area really needs to seriously consider retooling their infrastructure around the river, or at least creating a coastal like system of evacuation routes and warning sirens like they do with tsunami hazard zones.
Click to expand...

Moving this to the correct thread now that one is made. In regards to the first bolded point. Who do you think is responsible for the weather infrastructure you say was inadequate? This is just another reason why having a well funded and functional public "Weather Service" is so important. I'm not saying the whole tragedy could've been avoided, but there was a clear breakdown in communication here, and more public weather staff could've helped.
 
Yeah. I've seen that last photo before used years back on FB, but I can't tell you what event it was from.
 
Grand Poo Bah said:
It's amazing how many people on the internet are arguing that cuts to the National Weather Service isn't directly connected to less public weather safety. It is literally our public Weather Service. It's so simple and straightforward. It's like saying having less firefighters wouldn't make wildfires harder to contain. More hands on deck always helps, and clearly there weren't enough people to get warnings to proper emergency management teams in time.

5 weather staff isn't enough to cover the 2.4 million people in the 6 counties that were under a flash flood emergency. 15 might not have been either, but it certainly would've been way closer to the right number.
Click to expand...
I respectfully disgaree that more was needed. Other's in the meteorological community had said 5 was double what that office usually has ( Check James Spann post as well) The threat was not heightnen to a heigher level until they were into their shift. It does not take 10-15 NWS personel to issue a message via NWSChat, which I monitor myself, to send out an PC generated electronic message/warning to any EMA office in the country. I've watched an WCM type that he/she was going to issue a warning for a specfic area and it's seen in under 30 seconds. Those MCV thunderstorms... DID NOT MOVE for hours. I saw one graphic off Nexrad of up to 16" close to that area and west.

No one is awake at 1:00 A.M. in general, so when San Antonio issued their FFW for that area, there wasn't going to be an all out assault via EMA officals to run out screaming through the camps, neighborhoods, and countryside by 3:00-4:00 A.M. to evacuate everyone from a 25-30 FT rise in river water/ flood wave?. Thats not even in the relam of possiblty with this particular event.

It wasn't about the amount of NWS personel in this matter or anything else. It was THE RARE EVENT itself.
 
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