The National Weather Service issued timely alerts, meteorologists say, but few were listening in the hours before the early morning flash floods along the Guadalupe River

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

As searchers continue to look for victims in the deadly flash flooding in Texas, officials are answering questions about the weather forecasts ahead of and during the storm.

Catastrophic flooding struck central Texas on Friday as the Guadalupe River surged by more than 20 to 26 feet within 90 minutes, causing widespread devastation and forcing mass evacuations in Texas Hill Country. At least 80 people have been killed in the floods while others remain missing or displaced and more than 850 people required rescuing.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been activated in Texas, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday provided an update on the devastating floods that have struck Texas. At least 79 have been killed and more than 40 people are missing.