1 high surf, 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 Dec 30, 5:45 AM AST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.
PUERTO RICO AND U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 545 AM AST THU DEC 30 2004 .DISCUSSION... COLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY LOOKS TO HAVE BECOME DIFFUSE ACROSS THE LOCAL AREA OVERNIGHT AS NUMEROUS PERTURBATIONS AND LLVL VORT CENTERS MOVED ALONG IT. STLT IMAGERY THIS MORNING SUGGESTS THAT THE BOUNDARY MAY HAVE BROKEN UP ACROSS THE LOCAL ATLANTIC WATERS OVERNIGHT AND NUDGED ALONG THE NORTH COAST OF P.R. REGARDLESS...PERSISTENT NELY FLOW ACROSS THE REGION WILL MAINTAIN THE FRESH WIND FLOW AND COOL TEMPERATURES AWAY FROM OCEANIC INFLUENCE. THIS WILL ALSO TRANSPORT PERIODS OF PATCHY CLOUDS AND SHOWERS...AND A FEW LESS PREVALENT BREAKS WITH FEW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. ONE SUCH BREAK IS OCCURRING ATTM...BUT WILL END SHORTLY AFTER SUNRISE AS ANOTHER LLVL VORT ALONG THE DIFFUSE FRONT MOVES SW ACROSS THE AREA TODAY. FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY STILL FORECAST TO BRING DEEPER MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY TO THE AREA FOR NUMEROUS SHOWERS WITH A FEW SQUALLS. HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN BUILD EAST AND SOUTHEASTWARD OVER THE WEEKEND TO FURTHER INCREASE THE LLVL FLOW. && .MARINE... LARGE NNW SWELLS YESTERDAY WERE OBSERVED TO BE PRODUCING 10-15 BREAKERS ACROSS THE OUTER REEFS OF SAN JUAN...WITH A FEW LARGER WAVES OCCASIONALLY. THIS COMPONENT OF OUR VERY ROUGH MARINE ENVIRONMENT WILL VEER MORE NLY THIS MORNING AND BEGIN TO SUBSIDE... BUT WILL CONTINUE TO MERGE WITH PREVAILING NELY WIND WAVES AND NE SWELL TO MAINTAIN ROUGH AND CONFUSED SEAS. HSA NOW IN EFFECT FROM RINCON TO FAJARDO AND ALL OTHER N COASTS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SJU 81 74 83 73 / 30 60 50 70 STT 82 74 84 73 / 30 50 40 50 && .SJU WATCHES/ADVISORIES... PR...HSA PRZ001-002-005-008-010-012-013. SCA AMZ710>750. VI...HSA VIZALL. SCA AMZ710>730. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 655 AM AST THU DEC 30 2004 PRZ001>013-AMZ710>750-311100- 655 AM AST THU DEC 30 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO. .TODAY AND TONIGHT... OCCASIONAL PATCHES OF CLOUDS WITH EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE THE RULE ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS TODAY. HOWEVER...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. HOWEVER...MARINE CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN VERY HAZARDOUS...AS MODERATE TO STRONG TRADE WINDS COMBINE WITH LARGE...LONG PERIOD NORTH SWELLS...TO CREATE VERY ROUGH AND CONFUSED SEAS. A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHWEST THROUGH NORTH COASTS OF PUERTO RICO FROM RINCON NORTHEAST AND EAST THROUGH FAJARDO AND FOR THE NORTHWEST THROUGH NORTH COASTS OF CULEBRA AND VIEQUES. ALSO...A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF THE LOCAL ATLANTIC WATERS AND THE CARIBBEAN PASSAGES. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... EXPECT OCCASIONAL PATCHES OF CLOUDS WITH EMBEDDED LIGHT TO MODERATE SHOWERS AND GUSTY WINDS INTO THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. AT THIS TIME...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. SEAS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ROUGH AND HAZARDOUS THROUGH AT LEAST SUNDAY. VIZ001-002-AMZ710>730-311100- 655 AM AST THU DEC 30 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. .TODAY AND TONIGHT... OCCASIONAL PATCHES OF CLOUDS WITH EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE THE RULE ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS TODAY. HOWEVER...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. HOWEVER...MARINE CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN VERY HAZARDOUS FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...AS MODERATE TO STRONG TRADE WINDS COMBINE WITH LARGE...LONG PERIOD NORTH SWELLS...TO CREATE VERY ROUGH AND CONFUSED SEAS. A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHWEST THROUGH NORTH COASTS OF ALL OF THE LOCAL ISLANDS. ALSO...A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF THE LOCAL ATLANTIC WATERS AND THE CARIBBEAN PASSAGES. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... EXPECT OCCASIONAL PATCHES OF CLOUDS WITH EMBEDDED LIGHT TO MODERATE SHOWERS AND GUSTY WINDS INTO THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. AT THIS TIME...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. SEAS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ROUGH AND HAZARDOUS THROUGH AT LEAST SUNDAY.
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
Two swimmers were overtaken by a wave while swimming at the Pinones Beach, Monte Grande sector. One of them was rescued, the other drowned.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Surf, San Juan and Vicinity | 2004-12-30 | 32 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Puerto Rico, December 2004
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: 5431374.