Name: Flash Flooding and Debris Flow in Puerto Rico, November 18, 2003
Start: 2003-11-18T10:24
End: 2003-11-18T20:35
Location: Puerto Rico

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 18, 9:12 AM AST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 18, 9:12 AM AST, 1 hour 12 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 18, 5:01 AM AST, 5 hours 23 minutes before

PRZ001>013-VIZ001-002-AMZ710>750-182200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
600 AM AST TUESDAY NOV 18 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO.

.TODAY AND TONIGHT...THE SOIL ACROSS THE PUERTO RICO AND ADJACENT
ISLANDS REMAIN WELL SATURATED...AND RIVERS AND STREAMS STILL
CONTINUE AT RELATIVELY HIGH LEVELS. ALTHOUGH WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED TO SHOW AN OVERALL IMPROVEMENT DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...
SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED
TODAY. THIS WILL BE SUFFICIENT TO LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING ACROSS SOME
ISOLATED AREAS. THE POSSIBILITY OF LAND SLIDES ESPECIALLY ACROSS
AREAS OF STEEP TERRAIN WILL CONTINUE. CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL
ALSO ACCOMPANY THE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL
REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM TODAY FOR THE MAINLAND OF PUERTO RICO.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY TODAY.

.WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY...MAINLY AFTERNOON SHOWERS WITH ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED THROUGH THURSDAY. AS A RESULT...MINOR URBAN
AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER
IS EXPECTED THEREAFTER.

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

.TODAY AND TONIGHT...THE SOIL ACROSS THE ISLANDS REMAIN WELL
SATURATED...WITH GUTS AND SMALL CREEKS STILL SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL.
ALTHOUGH WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO SHOW AN OVERALL
IMPROVEMENT DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
POSSIBLY AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM CAN BE EXPECTED TODAY MAINLY
DURING THE AFTERNOON. THIS WILL BE SUFFICIENT TO LEAD MINOR FLOODING
OF STREETS AND GUTS. CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY
THE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY.

.WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT
THIS TIME.

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

3 flash flood, 1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.

Debris Flow, Southwest

When: November 18, 10:24 AM AST
Where: Southwest forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Landslides reported at Alturas de Belgica in Guanica. Residents were evacuated.

Flash Flood, Northeast

When: November 18, 2:00 PM AST to 6:00 PM AST
Where: Northeast County, Naguabo
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Road 31 at sector La Fe in Naguabo was reported flooded.

Flash Flood, San Juan and Vicinity

When: November 18, 2:27 PM AST to 6:27 PM AST
Where: San Juan and Vicinity County, Trujillo Alto
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

A small stream was reported out of its banks at Barrio Saint Just.

Flash Flood, Mayaguez and Vicinity

When: November 18, 4:35 PM AST to 8:35 PM AST
Where: Mayaguez and Vicinity County, Rincon
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

A school bus was reported surrounded by flood waters along road 429 near the Rincon beach.

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.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

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: 5335749, 5335750, 5335751, 5336059.