Debris Flow and Flood in Puerto Rico, November 14, 2004

Name: Debris Flow and Flood in Puerto Rico, November 14, 2004
Start: 2004-11-14T14:45
End: 2004-11-14T14:45
Location: Puerto Rico

November 14, 2004 · NWS SJU · 2 events in 1 county or zone

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

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 14, 10:00 AM AST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 14, 10:00 AM AST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 14, 6:00 AM AST, 8 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
600 AM AST SUN NOV 14 2004

PRZ001>013-AMZ710>750-151100-
600 AM AST SUN NOV 14 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO.

.TODAY AND TONIGHT...

A BROAD AND ELONGATED AREA OF SURFACE LOW PRESSURE OVER THE EASTERN
CARIBBEAN SEA WILL DRIFT NORTHEAST TODAY...AS STRONG SURFACE HIGH
PRESSURE OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC BUILDS INTO THE LOCAL AREA.  THE
PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN THE TWO HAS MAINTAINED A STRONG NORTHEAST
TO NORTH NORTHEAST LOW LEVEL WIND FLOW OVER THE PUERTO RICO THE LAST
FEW DAYS...BUT THIS WILL BEGIN TO EASE AS THE DAY WEARS ON. FOR THE
TIME BEING...A HIGH WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ELEVATIONS
GREATER THAN 1000 FT. THIS ADVISORY MAY BE LOWERED LATER TODAY.

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE ATLANTIC WATERS
...WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF PUERTO RICO
THROUGHOUT THE DAY.  THESE WILL PRODUCE SPORADIC...HEAVY RAINS
...WHICH COULD AGGRAVATE SWOLLEN RIVERS AND AN ALREADY SATURATED
GROUND. THE RISK OF FLOODING ALONG OR NEAR AREA RIVERS REMAINS
HIGH...AND THEREFORE A FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT OVER MOST OF
THE NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN PART OF THE ISLAND.

LONG PERIOD NORTH NORTHEAST SWELLS...COMBINED WITH STRONG NORTHEAST
WINDS...IS ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO DANGEROUS SURF CONDITIONS AND VERY
ROUGH SEAS. WAVE HEIGHTS OF 8 TO 11 FEET...WITH BREAKING WAVES OF 10
TO PERHAPS 16 FEET WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE ATLANTIC COASTAL
WATERS EARLY TODAY BEFORE SLOWLY DECREASING. THE POTENTIAL FOR
COASTAL FLOODING AROUND THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE WILL ALSO PERSIST. FOR
THIS REASON...A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT
THROUGHOUT THE MORNING FOR NORTHERN COASTAL AREAS OF PUERTO RICO...
VIEQUES ...AND CULEBRA. IN ADDITION ...HIGH SURF AND SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORIES REMAIN IN EFFECT TO EMPHASIZE ADDITIONAL HAZARDS THAT
MARINERS AND BEACHGOERS MAY FACE.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE CONSIDERABLY BY EARLY NEXT
WEEK...WITH MID WEEK CONDITIONS AS DRY AS THEY HAVE BEEN IN SOME
TIME. HOWEVER...COMPUTER MODELS ARE HINTING AT ANOTHER ROUND OF WET
WEATHER BY FRIDAY OR SATURDAY.  AT THIS TIME THOUGH...THERE ARE NO
INDICATIONS THAT NEXT WEEKENDS EVENT WILL RIVAL THE CURRENT ONE.

DANGEROUS MARINE CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE SLIGHTLY GOING INTO EARLY
NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...BY TUESDAY NIGHT MORE SWELLS WILL ARRIVE OVER
THE ATLANTIC WATERS...KEEPING HAZARDOUS MARINE CONDITIONS IN THE
FORECAST FOR THE GREATER PART OF NEXT WEEK.

VIZ001-002-AMZ710>730-151100-
600 AM AST SUN NOV 14 2004

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

.TODAY AND TONIGHT...

A BROAD AND ELONGATED AREA OF SURFACE LOW PRESSURE OVER THE EASTERN
CARIBBEAN SEA WILL DRIFT NORTHEAST TODAY...AS STRONG SURFACE HIGH
PRESSURE OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC BUILDS INTO THE LOCAL AREA.  THE
PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN THE TWO HAS MAINTAINED A STRONG NORTHEAST
TO NORTH NORTHEAST LOW LEVEL WIND FLOW OVER THE LOCAL ISLANDS THE
LAST FEW DAYS ...BUT THIS WILL BEGIN TO EASE AS THE DAY WEARS ON.
FOR THE TIME BEING.

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE ATLANTIC WATERS
...WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD OVER THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS THROUGHOUT
THE DAY.  THESE WILL PRODUCE SPORADIC...HEAVY RAINS ...WHICH COULD
CAUSE LOCALIZED STREET FLOODING.

LONG PERIOD NORTH NORTHEAST SWELLS...COMBINED WITH STRONG NORTHEAST
WINDS...IS ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO DANGEROUS SURF CONDITIONS AND VERY
ROUGH SEAS. WAVE HEIGHTS OF 8 TO 11 FEET...WITH BREAKING WAVES OF 10
TO PERHAPS 16 FEET WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE ATLANTIC COASTAL
WATERS EARLY TODAY BEFORE SLOWLY DECREASING. THE POTENTIAL FOR
COASTAL FLOODING AROUND THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE WILL ALSO PERSIST. FOR
THIS REASON...A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT
THROUGHOUT THE MORNING FOR NORTHERN COASTAL AREAS OF PUERTO RICO...
VIEQUES ...AND CULEBRA. IN ADDITION ...HIGH SURF AND SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORIES REMAIN IN EFFECT TO EMPHASIZE ADDITIONAL HAZARDS THAT
MARINERS AND BEACHGOERS MAY FACE.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE CONSIDERABLY BY EARLY NEXT
WEEK...WITH MID WEEK CONDITIONS AS DRY AS THEY HAVE BEEN IN SOME
TIME. HOWEVER...COMPUTER MODELS ARE HINTING AT ANOTHER ROUND OF WET
WEATHER BY FRIDAY OR SATURDAY.  AT THIS TIME THOUGH...THERE ARE NO
INDICATIONS THAT NEXT WEEKENDS EVENT WILL RIVAL THE CURRENT ONE.

DANGEROUS MARINE CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE SLIGHTLY GOING INTO EARLY
NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...BY TUESDAY NIGHT MORE SWELLS WILL ARRIVE OVER
THE ATLANTIC WATERS...KEEPING HAZARDOUS MARINE CONDITIONS IN THE
FORECAST FOR THE GREATER PART OF NEXT WEEK.

Event by event

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

Debris Flow, Western Interior

When: November 14, 2:45 PM AST
Where: Western Interior forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Landslide along road 605, Barrio Vivi Arriba in Utuado.

Flood, Western Interior

When: November 14, 2:45 PM AST
Where: Western Interior forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Lake Caonillas in Utuado was reported two feet above spillway.

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.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Puerto Rico, November 2004

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5428813, 5428814.