1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Sep 12, 2:30 AM AST, 11 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 230 AM AST FRI SEP 12 2003 HAVE ALTERED POPS ACROSS THE AREA. INVERSION SHOULD BE IN PLACE THROUGH TODAY WHICH SHOULD HOLD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS UNTIL LATER IN THE DAY. INVERSION DOESNT LOOK STRONG ENOUGH TO COMPLETELY LIMIT ACTIVITY THIS AFTERNOON...BUT IT SHOULD HOLD LONG ENOUGH TO ALLOW FOR A COUPLE OF STRONG ONES ONCE THEY BREAK THE INVERSION. WITH NO STRONG WIND FLOW IN PLACE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVERS AND COULD SIT ACROSS THE SAME AREA FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. BLOW-OFF SHOULD BE TO THE EAST NORTHEAST WHICH SHOULD LEAVE THE EAST AND NORTHEAST OF PUERTO RICO UNDER VARIABLY CLOUDY SKIES THIS AFTERNOON. AREAS OF AT LEAST SOME URBAN FLOODING IS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN SLOPES EAST TO CAGUAS WITH AREAS OF FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE. WE HAVE ALTERED CFW (COASTAL FLOOD WATCH) TO ONLY CONVER THE NORTH TO NORTHEAST COAST OF PUERTO RICO AND THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. SHIP REPORTS AND FETCH SET UP FROM HURRICANE ISABEL DO NOT LEAD US TO BELIEVE THERE IS LIKELY TO BE ANY COASTAL FLOODING ALONG THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST COASTS. HSA (HIGH SURF ADVISORY) WILL CONTINUE IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHEAST AND NORTH COAST. HSA AND CFW WILL NEED TO BE EXTENDED TO COVER THE NORTHWEST SECTIONS OF PUERTO RICO AS ISABELA PASSES NORTH OF THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SJU... .PR...SCA AMZ710-720...AND PARTS OF AMZ730. HSA AND COASTAL FLOOD WATCH FOR NORTH AND NORTHEAST FACING COASTS FROM AGUADILLA EAST THROUGH FAJARDO TIL 19Z. .VI...SCA AMZ710-720...AND PARTS OF AMZ730. HSA AND COASTAL FLOOD WATCH FOR NORTH THROUGH NORTHEAST FACING COASTS OF ALL LOCAL ISLANDS TIL 19Z. EQUIPMENT...NO PROBLEMS AT THIS TIME.
PRZ001>013-VIZ001-002-AMZ710>750-122200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 600 AM AST FRI SEP 12 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO. .TODAY AND TONIGHT...AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP MAINLY OVER THE CENTRAL INTERIOR...WEST AND SOUTHWEST SECTIONS OF PUERTO RICO THIS AFTERNOON. AS A RESULT URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING IS POSSIBLE IN SOME ISOLATED AREAS. MARINE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DETERIORATE TODAY AS EAST AND THEN NORTHEAST SWELLS GENERATED BY HURRICANE ISABEL AFFECT THE LOCAL AREA. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE ATLANTIC OFF SHORE WATERS AND THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN PASSAGES AND A HIGH SURF ADVISORY AND COASTAL FLOOD WATCH ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH THROUGH NORTHEAST FACING COASTS OF PUERTO RICO. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...DANGEROUS MARINE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY. THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. .TODAY AND TONIGHT...DANGEROUS MARINE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AS EAST AND THEN NORTHEAST SWELLS GENERATED BY HURRICANE ISABEL WILL AFFECT THE LOCAL AREA. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE ATLANTIC OFF SHORE WATERS AND THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN PASSAGES AND A HIGH SURF ADVISORY AND COASTAL FLOOD WATCH ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH THROUGH NORTHEAST FACING COASTS OF ALL OF THE LOCAL ISLANDS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...DANGEROUS MARINE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY. 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.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A 50 year old female was washed away by the initial flood crest at the Chuco Ramos Sector of Barrio Piedras Blancas when she attempted to make a low water crossing in her vehicle.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Mayaguez and Vicinity | 2003-09-12 | 50 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Puerto Rico, September 2003
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: 5336941.