Debris Flow in Puerto Rico, November 16, 2003

Name: Debris Flow in Puerto Rico, November 16, 2003
Start: 2003-11-16T00:05
End: 2003-11-16T12:08
Location: Puerto Rico

November 16, 2003 · NWS SJU · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 debris flow, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 0
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 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 Nov 15, 9:43 PM AST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 15, 9:43 PM AST, 2 hours 22 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 15, 4:44 AM AST, 19 hours 21 minutes before

PRZ001>013-VIZ001-002-AMZ710>750-152200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
600 AM AST SATURDAY NOV 15 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO.

.TODAY AND TONIGHT...ALTHOUGH WIDESPREAD RAINFALL IS NOT
EXPECTED...ISOLATED LOCATIONS WILL RECEIVE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WHICH
COULD LEAD TO ANOTHER ROUND OF FLASH FLOODING. THE TERRAIN REMAINS
VERY SATURATED AND ALL RIVERS...AND STREAMS ARE ALSO STILL ABOVE
NORMAL LEVELS.THEREFORE THE POSSIBILITY OF LAND SLIDES ESPECIALLY
ACROSS AREAS OF STEEP TERRAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM
TODAY.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY TODAY.

.SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AS THE ELONGATED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS GETS LIFTED NORTHEAST
ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS...LOCAL WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE
TO IMPROVE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CAN
HOWEVER BE EXPECTED AS SUFFICIENT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL REMAIN IN
PLACE TO PRODUCE MAINLY EARLY MORNING AND AFTERNOON SHOWER ACTIVITY
ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE ISLAND. URBAN AND STREAM FLOODING IN ISOLATED
AREAS IS THEREFORE POSSIBLE THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS
WEATHER IS EXPECTED THEREAFTER.

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS.

.TODAY AND TONIGHT...ALTHOUGH WIDESPREAD RAINFALL IS NOT
EXPECTED...ISOLATED LOCATIONS WILL RECEIVE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WHICH
COULD LEAD TO ANOTHER ROUND OF FLASH FLOODING. THE TERRAIN REMAINS
VERY SATURATED AND ALL GUTS...AND STREAMS STILL REMAIN ABOVE
NORMAL LEVELS. THE POSSIBILITY OF LAND SLIDES ACROSS STEEP TERRAIN
WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE DAY. AREAS OF OCCASIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL
WILL CONTINUE TO CROSS MUCH OF THE ISLANDS DURING THE DAY.
DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ACCOMPANY ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM
TODAY.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY TODAY.

.SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AS THE ELONGATED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS GETS LIFTED NORTHEAST
ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS...LOCAL WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE
TO IMPROVE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CAN
HOWEVER BE EXPECTED AS SUFFICIENT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL REMAIN IN
PLACE TO PRODUCE MAINLY EARLY MORNING AND AFTERNOON SHOWER ACTIVITY
ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE ISLAND. URBAN AND GUT FLOODING IN ISOLATED
AREAS IS THEREFORE POSSIBLE THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS
WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED THEREAFTER.

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 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.

Debris Flow, Central Interior

When: November 16, 12:05 AM AST to 12:08 PM AST
Where: Central Interior forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Several landslides were reported in the municipality of Barranquitas.

What these are

Debris Flow: A fast-moving slurry of mud, rock and debris, usually on a slope soaked by heavy rain or stripped by a fire.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Puerto Rico, November 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: 5335747.