The Chicago area has felt less of an impact from the Trump administration’s National Weather Service cuts than offices in the Quad Cities and downstate Lincoln.

A large percentage of people still unaccounted for were probably visiting the area, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said.

Experts say outlandish claims of weather manipulation are hindering disaster preparedness and emergency response.

For a second straight day, rain forecasts hampered the search Monday for people still missing after deadly floods pummeled Texas, as officials made plans to drain reservoirs in the search for

Key positions at National Weather Service offices across Texas are vacant, sowing doubt over the state’s ability to respond to natural disasters as rescuers comb through the flood-ravaged Hill Country.

NWS says Flash Flood Warnings were issued on July 3 and early July 4 in Central Texas, giving more than three hours of warning.

The National Weather Service on Monday morning warned that the international river could swell through Thursday evening and cause “minor flooding.” The City of Laredo on Monday evening said river levels may reach 16 feet at the Colombia-Solidarity International Bridge,

The floods are expected to move west out of Central Texas later this week, but a dry weather pattern bring hot temperatures is predicted.

"It's not community to community. It's a national system," Sen. Maria Cantwell said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

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

With hurricane season underway and jobs still open at the National Weather Service, Alief native Matt Moreland will serve as meteorologist-in-charge.