Flood in Puerto Rico, May 2, 2002

Name: Flood in Puerto Rico, May 2, 2002
Start: 2002-05-02T13:30
End: 2002-05-02T15:30
Location: Puerto Rico

May 2, 2002 · NWS SJU · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy rains developed in the afternoon over the west sections of Puerto Rico. This rainfall caused urban flooding in the municipality of San German and affected three residences.

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.

Heavy rains developed in the afternoon over the west sections of Puerto Rico. This rainfall caused urban flooding in the municipality of San German and affected three residences.

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 May 2, 9:19 AM AST, 4 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 9:19 AM AST, 4 hours 11 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
919 AM AST THU MAY 2 2002

AT THE LOWER LEVELS...00Z AVN RUN HAS THETA-E RIDGE AXIS (340K)
STILL CROSSING THE LOCAL ISLANDS AT 12Z THIS MORNING...MOVING INTO
THE MONA PASSAGE BY 03/00Z TONIGHT. HOWEVER...PRECIPITABLE WATER
FIELD (1.6 INCHES) GRADUALLY DECREASE THROUGH 03/18Z FRIDAY
AFTERNOON. 1026Z DERIVE SATELLITE WINDS SHOW NEAR SURFACE WINDS AT
10 TO 15 KNOTS.

AT THE MID LEVELS...MRF MODEL INDICATED VORTICITY ADVECTION OVER THE
LOCAL REGION FROM THE NORTH FROM 12Z TODAY THROUGH AT LEAST 12Z
FRIDAY WITH BULLS EYE AROUND 7 UNITS APPROACHING EASTERN HISPANOLA
BY EARLY SATURDAY. MID LEVEL THROUGH FROM PREVIOUS DAYS HAVE
WEAKENED CONSIDERABLE BUT VORTICITY SEEMS TO INCREASE PER AVN MODEL.

DERIVED SATELLITE WINDS CONTINUE SHOWING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE
LEEWARD ISLANDS...WITH A SECONDARY SHORT WAVE OVER EASTERN HISPANOLA
AND THE MONA PASSAGE. THIS WILL CONTINUES TO PRODUCE UNSTABLE
ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS AS IT CONTINUES IN OUR VICINITY PROVIDING
SOME UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE PER AVN MODEL.

SURFACE PRESSURE ANALYSIS INDICATE RELATIVELY WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT
ACROSS LOCAL AREA THROUGH TONIGHT...BECOMING TIGHTER BY EARLY
FRIDAY. THEREFORE...EXPECT LIGHT TO GENTLE WINDS THROUGH
TONIGHT...EXCEPT ALONG THE COASTS DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS WERE
SEA BREEZE WILL DEVELOP. WINDS SHOULD BEGIN TO INCREASE BY FRIDAY AT
15 TO 20 KNOTS WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER GUSTS AND UP TO 25 KNOTS
SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND SUNDAY MAINLY HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

MARINE GUIDANCE AND LOCAL OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST NEAR NORMAL
CONDITIONS SHOULD PREVAIL THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON...WITH SEAS TO 2
TO 5 FEET...GRADUALLY INCREASING TO 6 FEET MAINLY OFF SHORE WATERS
FOR BOTH ATLANTIC AND CARIBBEAN BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...AND FURTHER
INCREASING TO 6 TO 8 FEET BY SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

THEREFORE...WILL EXPECT ANOTHER AFTERNOON OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP MAINLY ACROSS THE INTERIOR AND NORTHERN
SLOPES OF PUERTO RICO...PERSISTING INTO THE NIGHT TIME HOURS. A
DRIER AIR MASS IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER THE LOCAL ISLANDS ON FRIDAY
THROUGH THE WEEKEND SUGGESTING LESS AFTERNOON AND EVENING RAINFALL
ACTIVITY.

EQUIPMENT: NOT HAVE 12Z SOUNDING DUE TO EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS.

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

ROCHE

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 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Mayaguez and Vicinity

When: May 2, 1:30 PM AST to 3:30 PM AST
Where: Mayaguez and Vicinity County, San German
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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, May 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: 5293888.