Lightning Strike in Puerto Rico, August 22, 2002

Name: Lightning Strike in Puerto Rico, August 22, 2002
Start: 2002-08-22T15:00
End: 2002-08-22T15:15
Location: Puerto Rico

August 22, 2002 · NWS SJU · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck a gas cylinder in a cock fight arena in Anasco causing an explosion and fire damaging the structure.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
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 gas cylinder in a cock fight arena in Anasco causing an explosion and fire damaging the structure.

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 22, 10:00 AM AST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 10:00 AM AST, 5 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
1000 AM AST THU AUG 22 2002

HAVE DECIDED NOT TO AMEND AT THIS TIME ONLY COSMETIC CHANGES TO
ZONES AND COASTAL. OUR AREA HAS CLEARED UP AND ONLY EXPECT TYPICAL
SUMMER SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE CENTRAL AND
WESTERN REGIONS. A MID LEVEL TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO REACH OUR AREA ON
FRIDAY INCREASING MID LEVEL MOISTURE AS WELL AS CLOUD AND SHOWER
COVERAGE. IS NOT UNTIL SUNDAY THAT WE GET A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN
OUR WEATHER...WHEN THE NEXT TROPICAL WAVE IS EXPECTED. AT THIS TIME
MODELS ARE SHOWING THAT THE MAIN CORE WILL STAY SOUTH BUT
SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE WILL REACH US FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

EQUIPMENT: NO PROBLEMS AT THIS TIME.

.SJU...
.PR...NONE.
.VI...NONE.

EM

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 22, 3:00 PM AST to 3:15 PM AST
Where: Mayaguez and Vicinity County, Anasco
Property damage: $10,000
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

Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5313157.