Puerto Rico, 2002

Volcanic Ash in Puerto Rico, September 30, 2002

September 30, 2002 · NWS SJU · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

A volcanic eruption occurred over the island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles, southeast of the local region. Southeast winds carried a thin volcanic ash cloud toward the eastern sections of Puerto Rico during the morning hours.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
9

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 volcanic eruption occurred over the island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles, southeast of the local region. Southeast winds carried a thin volcanic ash cloud toward the eastern sections of Puerto Rico during the morning hours. This cloud moved northwest away from the area in the late afternoon and dissipated.

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 30, 6:30 AM AST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
PRZ001>013-VIZ001-002-AMZ710>750-302200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
630 AM AST MON SEP 30 2002

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE
REGION TODAY. NO RIVER FLOODING IS EXPECTED. BUT LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL BETWEEN TWO AND THREE INCHES PER HOUR IS POSSIBLE IN
ISOLATED AREAS...RESULTING IN SMALL STREAM AND URBAN TYPE FLOODING.

...SERVICE CHANGE REMINDER...
ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 1 2002 AT 0400 COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME
/UTC/...THE SAN JUAN NATIONAL WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE WILL BEGIN
ISSUING AN OPERATIONAL DAILY TEXT PRODUCT CALLED THE HAZARDOUS
WEATHER OUTLOOK /HWO/. THIS NEW HWO PRODUCT WILL REPLACE THIS
CURRENT HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK ISSUED AS THE /SPS/ PRODUCT.

CUSTOMERS WHO WISH TO RECEIVE THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR
PUERTO RICO AND THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS SHOULD ADD THE
COMMUNICATIONS IDENTIFIERS BELOW TO THE APPROPRIATE
DATABASES.

LIST OF PRODUCTS INVOLVED WITH THIS SERVICE CHANGE

WFO SAN JUAN PR          FLCA42 TJSJ     HWOSJU
WFO SAN JUNAPR-SPANISH   FLCA42 TJSJ     HWOSPN

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
WEBSITE FOR PUERTO RICO AND U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS AT (ALL LOWERCASE
LETTERS).

HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/SJU

Event by event

9 volcanic ash. Local standard time, as filed.

Volcanic Ash, San Juan and Vicinity

When
September 30, 10:00 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where
San Juan and Vicinity forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Volcanic Ash, Central Interior

When
September 30, 10:00 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where
Central Interior forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Volcanic Ash, Culebra

When
September 30, 10:00 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where
Culebra forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Volcanic Ash, Eastern Interior

When
September 30, 10:00 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where
Eastern Interior forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Volcanic Ash, North Central

When
September 30, 10:00 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where
North Central forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Volcanic Ash, Northeast

When
September 30, 10:00 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where
Northeast forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Volcanic Ash, Ponce and Vicinity

When
September 30, 10:00 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where
Ponce and Vicinity forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Volcanic Ash, Southeast

When
September 30, 10:00 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where
Southeast forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

Volcanic Ash, Vieques

When
September 30, 10:00 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where
Vieques forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC

What these are

Volcanic Ash
Ash from an eruption that fell on land or reduced visibility.

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, September 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: 5320243, 5320244, 5320245, 5320246, 5320247, 5320248, 5320249, 5320250, 5320251.