Puerto Rico, 2009

Flood in Puerto Rico, September 20 to 21, 2009

September 20 to 21, 2009 · NWS SJU · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Upper level low with deep low level moisture allowed for heavy showers and thunderstorms to develop over the western interior. The afternoon rains caused rivers along the northwest to quickly rise during the evening, flooding parts of road 418 in Coloso sector of Aguada.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 happened

The episode as NWS SJU wrote it up.

Upper level low with deep low level moisture allowed for heavy showers and thunderstorms to develop over the western interior. The afternoon rains caused rivers along the northwest to quickly rise during the evening, flooding parts of road 418 in Coloso sector of Aguada.

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 Sep 20, 2:56 PM AST, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 20, 2:56 PM AST, 3 hours 14 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
256 PM AST SUN SEP 20 2009

.SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW COMBINED WITH DEEP LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE...WILL INCREASE THE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE
ACROSS THE LOCAL REGION.

&&

.DISCUSSION...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED EARLIER THAN
NORMAL ACROSS THE EASTERN INTERIOR AND ACROSS THE SAN JUAN
METROPOLITAN AREA. ANOTHER AREA OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPED OVER THE WESTERN INTERIOR SECTIONS. MOST OF THESE
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DISSIPATED OR MOVE OVER THE LOCAL
ATLANTIC WATER AND LINGER THROUGH LATE EVENING.

ALTHOUGH THE GFS MODEL SUGGEST A SLIGHT DECREASE ON MOISTURE A
SIMILAR UPPER LEVEL CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE LOCAL AREA
THROUGH MONDAY. THEREFORE EXPECT MORE AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP OVER THE INTERIOR AND NORTHERN SECTIONS
OF PUERTO RICO. THE NAM MODEL SUGGEST THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LOW
LEVEL LOW OVER THE ATLANTIC WATER JUST NORTH OF PUERTO RICO. THIS
WEATHER FEATURE IS ASSOCIATED TO A SURFACE REFLECTION OF THE UPPER
LEVEL LOW. THEREFORE EXPECT MORE ACTIVE WEATHER TO OCCUR ON
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.

&&

.AVIATION...MVFR OR EVEN IFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
ACROSS TJMZ...TJBQ AND TJSJ UNTIL 20/2200Z. BRIEF PERIODS OF MVFR
CONDITIONS ARE ALSO EXPECTED ACROSS TIST UNTIL 20/2200Z. EXPECT
PREVAILING VFR CONDITIONS ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS AND AT MOST LOCAL
TAF SITES AFTER 20/2200Z...BUT PASSING SHRA THIS EVENING WILL RESULT
IN A POSSIBLE BRIEF MVFR CEILING. ON MONDAY ANOTHER DAY OF ACTIVE
CONVECTION WITH MVFR/IFR LIKELY OVER TJMZ AND TJBQ WITH TSRA 18-21Z.
VCTS ALSO LIKELY TJSJ...TIST AND TISX SAME TIMES.

&&

.MARINE...MODELS ARE SUGGESTING EVEN SMOOTHER CONDITIONS FOR THE
INCOMING WEEK.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SJU  77  88  77  87 /  30  40  40  60
STT  79  88  78  87 /  30  30  40  50

&&

.SJU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PR...NONE.
VI...NONE.
&&

72/10
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 20, 5:15 AM AST, 12 hours 55 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE U.S. VIRGIN
ISLANDS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
515 AM AST SUN SEP 20 2009

AMZ710>745-PRZ001>013-211000-
SAN JUAN AND VICINITY-NORTHEAST-SOUTHEAST-EASTERN INTERIOR-
NORTH CENTRAL-CENTRAL INTERIOR-PONCE AND VICINITY-NORTHWEST-
WESTERN INTERIOR-MAYAGUEZ AND VICINITY-SOUTHWEST-CULEBRA-VIEQUES-
THE NEARSHORE AND OFF SHORE ATLANTIC AND CARIBBEAN COASTAL WATERS-
515 AM AST SUN SEP 20 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE
ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED TO SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR AGAIN TODAY...ESPECIALLY OVER THE
CENTRAL AND WESTERN INTERIOR...WEST...NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL
SECTIONS OF PUERTO RICO THIS AFTERNOON. ALTHOUGH NO WIDESPREAD
FLOODING IS EXPECTED...A FEW LOCATIONS WILL RECEIVE ENOUGH
RAINFALL TO RESULT IN URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING...WITH THE
POTENTIAL FOR LOCALIZED FLASH OR RIVER FLOODING...PARTICULARLY
ALONG THE RIO CULEBRINAS AND RIO GRANDE DE ARECIBO AND THEIR
TRIBUTARIES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

AMZ715-725-VIZ001-002-211000-
ST. THOMAS ST. JOHN ADJACENT ISLANDS-ST CROIX-
NEARSHORE ATLANTIC AND ADJACENT CARIBBEAN COASTAL WATERS-
515 AM AST SUN SEP 20 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS AND
THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Aguada

When
September 20, 6:10 PM AST to September 21, 7:45 PM AST
Where
Aguada County, 19.42 mi N of Aguada to 19.51 mi N of Aguada
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
18.401, -67.157

River Culebrinas was reported rising and flooding road 418 at Valle Coloso in Aguada. USGS sensor indicated the river rose to a stage of 15.02 feet at the Margarita Dam, which exceeded the flood stage of 15 feet.

What these are

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

More

Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Puerto Rico, September 2009

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: 197511.