Some governors and mayors are concerned over how current or potential cuts to agencies will impact how the government can respond in the future to major weather events.

The Trump administration denies the hundreds of reductions to the National Weather Service workforce had any effect on preparations.

There's no sense in finger-pointing over whether or not alerts went out fast enough in Texas, said Landry. As she sees it, preparing for the weather comes down to knowing the landscape where you live and planning out what to do if disaster strikes. "You have to be aware and prepared," she said.

A firefighter appears to have called for emergency alerts at least an hour before the first warnings were received.