Still, for the meteorologists and hydrologists tracking the weather patterns that led to the deadly Independence Day floods in the Texas Hill Country, the most urgent advisories weren’t deployed until it was almost too late,

Abrahm Lustgarten ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. On July 4, the broken remnants of a powerful tropical storm spun off the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico so heavy with moisture that it seemed to stagger under its load.