Rip Current, Mayaguez and Vicinity
- When
- March 29, 12:38 PM AST
- Where
- Mayaguez and Vicinity County, Aguada
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
Rip Current in Puerto Rico, March 29, 2003
Four persons were overtaken by a strong current at the beach in Barrio Guaniquilla in Aguada. Three were rescued by fishermen, one drowned.
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.
Four persons were overtaken by a strong current at the beach in Barrio Guaniquilla in Aguada. Three were rescued by fishermen, one drowned.
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 29, 3:46 AM AST, 8 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 3:46 AM AST, 8 hours 52 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
400 AM SAT MAR 29 2003
SCATTERD SHOWERS IN THE ATLANTIC AND ISOLATED SHOWERS IN THE
CARRIBEAN AT THIS HOUR. TODAY MODELS ARE STILL SHOWING SOME MOISTURE
LINGERING ACROSS OUR AREA...THEREFORE WE SHOULD EXPECT ONCE AGAIN
MODERATE SHOWERS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE INTERIOR SECTIONS
AND GRADUALLY SHIFTING TO THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST SECTIONS.
MARINE...A NE SWELL WILL ARRIVE OUR COAST ON SUNDAY NIGHT BUT THIS
SWELL WILL BECOME A SECONDARY SWELL ON WEDNESDAY WHEN A NW SWELL
WILL ALSO AFFECT OUR AREA. THE WW3 IS PREDICTING 2.7 M ON WEDNESDAY
NIGHT.
PRELIMINARY NUMBERS:
SJU BB 085/073 086/073 087 10233
BBBBB 073/085 072/086 072/086 072/086 072 20222442443
STT BB 082/075 082/075 084 10322
BBBBW 075/082 074/083 074/083 074/083 074 22222442553
.SJU
.PR...NONE.
.VI...NONE.
EQUIPMENT: NO PROBLEMS AT THIS TIME.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN JUAN HAS GONE GRAPHICAL TAKE A
LOOK AT OUR NEW GRAPHICAL FORECAST AT:
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/DATA/IFPS/SJU/GFE (ALL LOWER CASE)
ADDITIONAL IMAGES ARE ON THE WAY
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).Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 29, 6:00 AM AST, 6 hours 38 minutes before
PRZ001>013-VIZ001-002-AMZ710>750-292100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 600 AM AST SAT MAR 29 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO. .TODAY AND TONIGHT...SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE INTERIOR SECTIONS GRADUALLY SHIFTING TO THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST SECTIONS. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT FROM THE EAST NORTHEAST THEREFORE THESE SHOWERS WILL MOVE SLOWLY AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE QUARTER TO ONE INCH MAY OCCUR THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON AT ISOLATED LOCALITIES. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. .SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL EXIT THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES ON SUNDAY NIGHT. ITS COLD FRONT WILL SAG TOWARD PUERTO RICO ON WEDNESDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL MAY BE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...MAINLY IN INTERIOR SECTIONS OF THE ISLAND. THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. .TODAY AND TONIGHT... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION NOT ANTICIPATED. .SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS AT (ALL LOWERCASE LETTERS): HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/SJU.
Event by event
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Mayaguez and Vicinity | 2003-03-29 | 36 | Male | In Water | Direct |
What these are
- Rip Current
- A narrow, fast current flowing away from the beach that caused a drowning or rescue.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Rain in Massachusetts, March 29 to 30, 2003
- Heavy Rain in Rhode Island, March 29 to 30, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, March 29, 2003
- Tornadoes and Hail in Maryland, March 29, 2003
- Flooding in Vermont, March 29 to 30, 2003
- Flooding in Massachusetts, March 29 to 30, 2003
- Flood in Puerto Rico, March 29, 2003
- Waterspout in Hawaiian Waters, March 29, 2003
- Flood in Vermont, March 29 to 30, 2003
- Flood in Vermont, March 29 to 30, 2003
More
Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Puerto Rico, March 2003
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: 5347225.