High Surf in Puerto Rico, March 10, 2001

Name: High Surf in Puerto Rico, March 10, 2001
Start: 2001-03-10T13:00
End: 2001-03-10T13:30
Location: Puerto Rico

March 10, 2001 · NWS SJU · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A woman drowned in Pinones beach when strong waves pulled her out to the sea.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SJU wrote it up.

A woman drowned in Pinones beach when strong waves pulled her out to the sea.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS San Juan, PR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 10, 11:10 AM AST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 10, 11:10 AM AST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
1110 AM AST SAT MAR 10 2001

DRY AND STABLE CONDITIONS CONTINUE THIS MORNING ACROSS THE NORTHEAST
CARIBBEAN AND SHOULD LIMIT ANY SHOWER ACTIVITY TO LIGHT AND BRIEF.
HOWEVER...DIURNAL HEATING ACROSS PUERTO RICO AND THE D.R. MAY ALLOW
FOR ONE OR TWO MILD SHOWERS DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON. SOUTHEAST LOW
LEVEL WINDS FORECAST TO PERSIST THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY...BEFORE
GRADUALLY SHIFTING EASTERLY BY MONDAY. CURRENT FORECAST PACKAGE HAS
THIS COVERED AMPLY...AND NO CHANGES NECESSARY ATTM. I DID MAKE SOME
SIGNIFICANT ALTERATIONS TO THE MARINE FORECAST TO ACCOUNT FOR THE
CONTINUALLY CHANGING OCEANIC CONDITIONS. HAVE DROPPED HEAVY SURF
ADVISORY FOR WEST COAST OF PR SOUTH OF RINCON AS CURRENT NNW SWELL
DIRECTION SHOULD NOT PRODUCE PROBLEMS THERE...AND PUT HSA IN EFFECT
FOR NORTH COASTS OF VIEQUES AND ST CROIX. TWO DIFFERENT SWELLS
CURRENTLY AFFECTING LOCAL WATERS...ONE FROM ABOUT 330...AND ANOTHER
FROM ABOUT 20-25 DEGREES. THIS REQUIRED AN UPDATE TO PUBLIC FORECAST
TO MAKE ALTERATIONS IN HEADLINED ADVISORIES.

EQUIPMENT: NOTHING OPERATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT ATTM.

SJU...
.PR...SCA AMZ770-750 AND PARTS OF AMZ773-775.
 HSA PRZ001-002-005-008-010-012-013.
.VI...SCA AMZ770-750 AND PARTS OF AMZ773. HSA VIZ001-002.

70

OTHER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TEXT FORECASTS (IN ENGLISH OR
SPANISH)...SATELLITE IMAGERY...DOPPLER RADAR DATA...AND A VIRTUAL
LIBRARY OF WEATHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT THE NWS SAN JUAN WEB
SITES AT:

HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/SJU (ALL LOWER CASE).

     OR

HTTP://WWW.UPR.CLU.EDU/NWS (ALL LOWER CASE).

Event by event

1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Northeast

When: March 10, 1:00 PM AST to 1:30 PM AST
Where: Northeast County, Loiza
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
High Surf, Northeast	2001-03-10	37	Female	In Water	Direct

What these are

High Surf: Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Puerto Rico, March 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5230193.