On the night the deadly floodwaters raged down the Guadalupe River in Texas, the National Weather Service forecast office in Austin/San Antonio was missing a key member of its team: the warning coordination meteorologist,

The flood watch, in effect until 7 p.m. Sunday, applies to Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Gillespie, Hays, Kerr, Llano, Travis and Williamson counties.

When the National Weather Service Office issues a flood watch, or a flash flood watch, the forecast has the potential for rainfall of one inch per hour or repeatedly over a span of a few or many hours. These locations indicated by the watch should be aware of their locations and surroundings regarding the flooding potential.

On Sunday at 2:33 p.m. the National Weather Service issued a flood advisory in effect until 4:30 p.m. for Houston County.

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

Experts said warnings issued in the run-up to this weekend’s flooding were as timely and accurate as possible, but questions about whether the alerts reached people most at risk remain.

The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of central North Carolina Wednesday, including Moore County.

In the aftermath of deadly Hill Country flooding, Texas’ junior U.S. Senator is defending the National Weather Service, as questions surface over the agency’s forecast timing, urgency and communication.