Puerto Rico, 2002

Lightning Strike in Puerto Rico, August 15, 2002

August 15, 2002 · NWS SJU · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck a residence in Moca causing roof, electrical cables and antenna damages in his residence.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2,000
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.

Lightning struck a residence in Moca causing roof, electrical cables and antenna damages in his residence.

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 Aug 15, 10:40 AM AST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 15, 10:40 AM AST, 4 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
1040 AM AST THU AUG 15 2002

FORECAST AREA IS CURRENTLY IN BETWEEN TWO TROPICAL WAVES THIS
MORNING. ONE WAVE EXITED THE AREA OVERNIGHT. THE NEXT WAVE...CLEARLY
DISCERNIBLE ON VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY...IS LOCATED JUST EAST OF
THE WINDWARD ISLANDS. MOISTURE OUT AHEAD OF THE WAVE HAS OVERSPREAD
THE WINDWARD ISLANDS ALREADY. HOWEVER...VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY
CLEARLY SHOWS THE WAVE VORTEX CENTERED AT 58 DEGREES WEST AT MID
MORNING.

THIS MORNINGS SAN JUAN SOUNDING SHOWS A MARKED DECREASE IN MOISTURE
COMPARED TO YESTERDAY. PWAT IS 1.57 INCHES. HOWEVER...MOISTURE IS
ALREADY ON THE INCREASE ACROSS THE AREA...DEPICTED BY BOTH SATELLITE
IMAGERY AND MODEL DATA. SO INHERITED POPS STILL LOOK GOOD FOR THE
MOST PART.

HOWEVER...DID MAKE JUST A FEW CHANGES TO THE FORECAST THIS UPDATE.
SOUNDING AND MODEL DATA SHOW THE LOW LEVEL WIND FIELD OUT OF THE
EAST-SOUTHEAST AND THE MID LEVEL WIND FIELD OUT OF DUE SOUTHEAST.
WITH THIS FLOW...THE NORTHWEST QUARTER OF PUERTO RICO WILL BE THE
FAVORED AREA FOR CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON. THUS...INCREASED POPS A
BIT FOR NORTHWEST ZONE GROUP AND DECREASED POPS ACROSS SOUTHWEST
PR/PONCE VCNTY GROUP. EASTERN AREAS AND THE U.S.V.I WILL SEE QUICK
PASSING SHOWERS. NO FLOODING PROBLEMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY DUE TO THE
STRONG LOW/MID LEVEL FLOW.

SJU SOUNDING SHOWS WINDS OF 29 KNOTS AT 4000 FEET.  THEREFORE...LIKE
YESTERDAY...EXPECT TO SEE WIND GUSTS TO 30 MPH ACROSS THE AREA AND
ADDED THIS DETAIL TO THE ZFP.

MAIN VORTEX OF WAVE WILL PASS SOUTH OF THE AREA OVERNIGHT AND EARLY
FRIDAY. WINDS WILL INCREASE TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE
CARIBBEAN WATERS. THUS...A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT
ALL CARIBBEAN WATERS TONIGHT.

EQUIPMENT: NO PROBLEMS AT THIS TIME.

.SJU...
.PR...SCA PARTS OF AMZ730 AND 740.
.VI...SCA PART OF AMZ730.

DG

WRITTEN 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 SITE AT:

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

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Mayaguez and Vicinity

When
August 15, 3:00 PM AST to 3:15 PM AST
Where
Mayaguez and Vicinity County, Moca
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

What these are

Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Puerto Rico, August 2002

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: 5313156.