In the early hours of Independence Day, rain pelted sleeping communities in central Texas. No one knew yet how devastating the storm would become.

"Let's put an end to the conspiracy theories and stop blaming others," Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement.

Big changes to the weather pattern arrive Thursday in Texas, as high atmospheric pressure and Saharan dust plumes promote drier skies.

Flooding is the deadliest natural disaster facing Oklahomans, a threat far greater than tornadoes. In the United States, flooding kills an average of 103 people a year. Tornadoes, however, caused 48 deaths on average during the same period, according to the National Weather Service.

Conspiracy theories about weather modification programs are surging online amid a torrent of misinformation following tragic flash floods that struck the US state of Texas on July 4, 2025, with posts across platforms claiming a local cloud seeding operation triggered the rainstorms.

Tornado damages homes in Texas as ice storms kill at least 6 on the roads Record highs were expected on the East Coast as a winter storm crawled across the U.S. February 20, 2018

For years, employees say, they've had to do more with less. But the ability to fill in the gaps became strained to the breaking point when the Trump administration began pushing new staffing cuts.

"It's sadly common for people to abandon puppies near public areas where they hope someone might find them," the rescue told Newsweek.