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 May 18, 3:00 PM AST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
PUERTO RICO AND U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 300 PM AST TUE MAY 18 2004 .DISCUSSION...LOCAL EFFECTS HAVE PRODUCE TYPICAL AFTERNOON SHOWERS. AT THIS MOMENT THEY ARE TWO AREA BEING AFFECTED BY SCATTERED SHOWERS. THE FIRST SECTION THAT REPORTED SHOWERS WAS THE SURROUNDING WATERS EAST OF PUERTO RICO. A STREAMER DEVELOPED FROM ST THOMAS AND MOVE WEST AFFECTING THE EASTERN COAST OF PUERTO RICO. ANOTHER SECTION OF PUERTO RICO THAT WAS AFFECTED BY SCATTERED SHOWERS WAS THE SOUTHWEST SECTION OF PR. THESE SHOWERS PRODUCED RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF AROUND 2 INCHES. THESE SHOWERS WILL DIMINISH OR MOVE AWAY AFTER SUNSET. A LOW LEVEL TROUGH LOCATED TO THE EAST OF PUERTO RICO WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE WEST OVER LOCAL AREA. AS THE THROUGH MOVES WEST AND PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHT UP...WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY THROUGH THURSDAY. ALSO MOISTURE ASSOCIATED TO THIS TROUGH WILL INCREASE SHOWER COVERAGE THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. && .SYNOPSIS...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC EXTENDING SOUTHWEST INTO THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. WILL SINK SOUTHWARD AND SLOWLY WEAKEN THROUGH FRIDAY...BUT MAINTAIN A MODERATE TO FRESH TRADE WIND FLOW ACROSS THE NORTHEAST CARIBBEAN. A WEAK LOW LEVEL TROUGH ALONG ABOUT 64.5 WEST AND NORTH OF THE ANEGADA PASSAGE THIS AFTERNOON WILL MOVE WESTWARD ACROSS THE LOCAL AREA THROUGH TONIGHT TO BRIEFLY WEAKEN THE LOCAL PRESSURE GRADIENT...AND REDUCE WIND SPEEDS. A SECOND LOW LEVEL TROUGH WAS MOVING INTO THE LESSER ANTILLES THIS AFTERNOON...BRINGING WIDESPREAD ACTIVE WEATHER...AND WILL PASS SOUTH OF THE LOCAL ISLANDS WEDNESDAY...WITH TRAILING WEATHER SPREADING ACROSS THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. && .MARINE...AN INCREASE ON WINDS ARE EXPECTED AS A LOW LEVEL TROUGH MOVES CLOSER TO OUR LOCAL WATERS. AVN IS SUGGESTING SUSTAINED WINDS OF AROUND 20 KNOTS FROM EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND PEAKING ON THURSDAY AT AROUND 26 KNOTS. DROPPED THE WINDS TO A MORE CONSERVATIVE VALUE OF AROUND 20 KNOTS FIRST FOR THE CARIBBEAN WATERS AND THEN FOR THE ATLANTIC WATERS. && .AVIATION...AT 1:30 PM A WATERSPOUT WAS REPORTED BY A PILOT 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ST THOMAS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SJU 73 86 75 84 / 50 20 60 40 STT 73 85 73 83 / 40 20 60 60 && .SJU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PR...NONE. VI...NONE. && 10
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 610 AM AST TUE MAY 18 2004 PRZ001>013-AMZ710>750-191000- 610 AM AST TUE MAY 18 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO. .TODAY...RELATIVELY FAIR WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS MOST OF PUERTO RICO TODAY. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE ACROSS THE INTERIOR...WEST AND SOUTHWEST SECTIONS WERE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP TO PRODUCE ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN. SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION OVER THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN WATERS...AND OVER THE OFF SHORE WATERS OF WESTERN PUERTO RICO. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... A TROPICAL WAVE WILL APPROACH TO THE LOCAL ISLANDS LATE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY TO PRODUCE NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE LOCAL REGION. A MODERATE WIND FLOW WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS WITH GOOD CHANCES FOR WATERSPOUTS....HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES MAINLY LATE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. VIZ001-002-AMZ710>730-191000- 610 AM AST TUE MAY 18 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. .TODAY...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT OVER THE ISLANDS. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... A TROPICAL WAVE WILL APPROACH TO THE LOCAL ISLANDS ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY TO PRODUCE NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE LOCAL REGION. A MODERATE WIND FLOW WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS WITH GOOD CHANCES FOR WATERSPOUTS....HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES MAINLY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. A MODERATE TO FRESH WIND FLOW AND CHOPPY SEAS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE LOCAL WATERS WITH GOOD CHANCES FOR WATERSPOUTS....HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES. 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.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A local television meteorologist reported that three persons were swept away by a swollen small stream in the Pedernales sector of Cabo Rojo. Two were rescued, but a flood death ocurred when the car stalled crossing the flooded bridge over small stream Los Sosas on highway 103.
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, Southwest | 2004-05-18 | 66 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | 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, May 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: 5398800.