Former federal officials and outside experts have warned for months that President Donald Trump’s staffing cuts to the National Weather Service could endanger lives.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later began her briefing on the offensive, calling out those who've questioned whether federal cuts to the NWS impacted staffing levels or forecasting abilities as the tragedy unfolded.

As Central Texas reels from flash floods that killed over 100 people this weekend, questions are sharpening about whether officials could have done more to avert the tragedy – both in the decades leading up to the disaster,

Before heading to bed before the Fourth of July holiday, Christopher Flowers checked the weather while staying at a friend’s house along the Guadalupe River. Nothing in the forecast alarmed him. Hours later,

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

The team deployed around 7 a.m. Friday from Corpus Christi, about 200 miles south of where the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, had risen from about 3 feet to nearly 30 feet. Floodwaters in the area had swept through and battered several youth camps on the river banks — including Camp Mystic, the summer camp where they were headed.

The president confirmed the visit to reporters Monday evening, calling the flooding in Central Texas a "terrible event." Mr. Trump said Sunday that he is planning on going to Central Texas. He said he would have gone Sunday but he would be "in their way,

Authorities on Sunday were in a desperate search to find those still missing after historic flash floods swept across central Texas — including 10 children from a beloved all-girls camp — as the death toll rose and forecasters warned of more rain.