Experts said the NWS did a good job warning about the flooding, but questions remain about whether the cuts played a role.

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

Barry dissipated as a tropical depression four days before its remnants helped trigger the deadly Texas flash flood. And it's far from the only example of deadly inland flooding we've seen.

Rescuers searched the Guadalupe River for survivors of the Texas floods that killed more than 100 people over the July Fourth holiday weekend, with an unknown number of people still missing. The basin area was crowded with families and campers preparing to enjoy the holiday when pounding rain brought about catastrophic flash floods just before dawn Friday.