During the late afternoon of Thursday, July 1, 2010, the National Weather Service Forecast Office received reports of very strong winds that were observed at the Mayag ez airport. These strong winds caused considerable damage to approximately nine portable tents that had been installed at the airport, as part of the medical support for the Mayag ez 2010 Central American Games.
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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 episode as NWS SJU wrote it up.
During the late afternoon of Thursday, July 1, 2010, the National Weather Service Forecast Office received reports of very strong winds that were observed at the Mayag ez airport. These strong winds caused considerable damage to approximately nine portable tents that had been installed at the airport, as part of the medical support for the Mayag ez 2010 Central American Games. The Cape Air observer on duty called the National Weather Service (NWS) Office, indicating that he had measured winds of around 40 knots (44 mph), and a sudden gust of 72 knots (80 mph), but that no funnel cloud, tornado, or hail was observed at the time. Based on a visual NWS survey, the area that suffered the most significant damage was located at the airport and its vicinity with the following damage noted:The tents were blown off and pushed against the airport fence, causing damage to the fence. A metal railing attached to the ground and to a walk concrete way was lifted. One airport customer facility sliding doors were taken off their tracks. An aircraft that was not tied down and whose tail was unlocked, was turned sideways under the wind gusts. Many trees around the airport had snapped branches, indicative of a wind gust of 50 to 60 mph. Given the reports from the field, this wind event could be classified as a wet mini-microburst. The damage surveyed was indicative of straight line winds, and limited to the general airport area.
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 Jul 1, 2:57 PM AST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 257 PM AST THU JUL 1 2010 .SYNOPSIS...AT UPPER LEVELS...A TUTT LOW WILL EDGE WEST TO 60 DEGREES WEST OVERNIGHT BEFORE RETREATING EASTWARD AGAIN. THEN WEST NORTHWEST FLOW WILL PREVAIL UNTIL MONDAY NIGHT WHEN A TROUGH FROM A DISTANT LOW TO THE NORTHWEST DIGS INTO THE AREA WEAKLY. ON TUESDAY HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE CARIBBEAN TO THE WEST...BUT WEAK LOW PRESSURE RETURNS BY THE END OF THE WEEK BRINGING NORTHERLY FLOW WHICH BECOMES SOUTHERLY OVER THE WEEKEND. AT MID LEVELS...HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC MOVES NORTHEAST WHILE A RIDGE STRETCHES TO THE SOUTHWEST OVER CUBA AND THE GREATER ANTILLES. AFTER THE WEEKEND...HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS TO THE NORTHEAST AND A RIDGE EXTENDS OVER PUERTO RICO. A STRONG INVERTED TROUGH TO THE EAST OF THE WINDWARD ISLANDS ON WEDNESDAY FADES BEFORE PASSING THE LOCAL AREA OVER THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND. AT LOWER LEVELS...A WEAK TROPICAL WAVE IS PASSING SOUTH OF THE AREA AND MAINTAINING RELATIVELY HIGH PRECIPITABLE WATER OVER THE AREA FOR THE TIME BEING. DRIER AIR WILL FOLLOW. THE NEXT TROPICAL WAVE IS AROUND 34 WEST AND WILL ARRIVE IN THE LOCAL AREA ON MONDAY NIGHT. ANOTHER WAVE IS EXPECTED THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION...A WIND SURGE BEHIND A TROPICAL WAVE IS PASSING TO THE SOUTH WHICH HAS HELD SOME MOISTURE IN THE AIR MASS OVER THE LOCAL AREA. DEWPOINTS AT THE SURFACE ARE STILL QUITE HIGH...BEING IN THE UPPER 70S...SO THE AFTERNOON HEATING HAS SPAWNED SOME THUNDERSTORMS FROM WEST OF THE SAN JUAN METRO AREA TO DORADO AS WELL AS IN OROCOVIS AND JAYUYA AND JUST NORTHEAST OF RINCON. THESE SHOULD DIE SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET AS MOISTURE EBBS AGAIN...BUT SOME ISOLATED ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE. RENEWED HEATING TOMORROW WILL REPEAT THIS SCENARIO IN THE WEST. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL NOT HAVE THE COVERAGE OF THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS UNTIL THE NEXT WAVE ARRIVES MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. THIS WAVE WILL ALSO BE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FEATURE OF THE WEEK. DRIER AIR WILL AGAIN PREVAIL TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK. && .AVIATION... EXPECT PREVAILING VFR CONDITIONS ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS AND AT ALL LOCAL TAF SITES THROUGH TONIGHT. HOWEVER...BRIEF MVFR CONDITIONS AND LOCAL MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS ARE EXPECTED...MAINLY NEAR TJBQ...TJMZ AND TJSJ THROUGH 01/22Z IN SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. && .MARINE...SEAS WILL NOT MATERIALIZE TONIGHT IN THE CARIBBEAN AS SEA HEIGHTS ARE HOVERING IN THE 5 TO 6 FOOT RANGE...BUT EXPECT SOME SEAS MEETING SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CRITERIA BY FRIDAY NIGHT AS THE WIND SURGE MATURES. INCREASING SEAS WILL ALSO FOLLOW THE WAVE TO PASS ON TUESDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SJU 80 90 79 91 / 10 20 20 20 STT 81 90 81 89 / 10 20 20 20 && .SJU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PR...NONE. VI...NONE. && 06/12
The San Juan radar (TJUA), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:04 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Cape Air observer on duty at the Mayaguez Eugenio Maria de Hostos airport indicated he had measured winds of around 44 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Puerto Rico, July 2010
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: 248193.