President Trump's pick to head NOAA — which includes the National Weather Service — will tell Congress on Wednesday that he wants to make the U.S. a weather forecasting leader. Why it matters: Neil Jacobs' nomination hearing arrives as critics wonder if NWS staffing reductions hampered performance in the deadly Texas flooding — and whether proposed budget cuts will hinder the very forecasting improvements he's vowing.

In the five months since Trump chose Neil Jacobs as NOAA administrator, hundreds of NOAA scientists and meteorologists have left the agency through a combination of firings, buyouts and retirements.

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