An upper level trough combined with strong daytime heating, orographic affects and a southeast wind flow at the surface, to produce persistent showers with torrential rainfall mainly over the southeast section of Puerto Rico.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
An upper level trough combined with strong daytime heating, orographic affects and a southeast wind flow at the surface, to produce persistent showers with torrential rainfall mainly over the southeast section of Puerto Rico.
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 14, 11:12 AM AST, 3 hours 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 1112 AM AST TUE MAY 14 2013 .UPDATE...PASSING SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE EASTERN HALF OF PUERTO RICO THROUGH EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE CORDILLERA CENTRAL AND ACROSS THE NORTH CENTRAL SECTION OF PUERTO RICO. FORECAST IS ON TRACK WITH ONGOING WEATHER SITUATION. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO PREVAIL ACROSS MOST TAF SITES THROUGH AT LEAST 14/22Z. BRIEF PERIODS OF MVFR CAN BE EXPECTED CONDITIONS IN AND AROUND TJPS...TJMZ...TJSJ...AND TJBQ THIS AFTERNOON. SURFACE WINDS WILL CONTINUE MAINLY EAST SOUTHEAST AT 10 KTS WITH SEA BREEZE VARIATIONS IN COASTAL AREAS. && .MARINE...SEAS OF 4 FEET OR LESS AND WINDS OF 18 KNOTS OR LESS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 400 AM AST TUE MAY 14 2013/ SYNOPSIS...UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BEGIN TO BREAK DOWN TODAY AS SHARP UPPER LEVEL TROF EXITING THE U.S. EAST COAST DRAWS CLOSER. TROF AXIS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA LATE WED AND EAST OF THE AREA THU. ANOTHER TROUGH WILL IMPACT THE REGION EARLY NEXT WEEK. DISCUSSION...APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL TROF OVR THE WRN ATLC WILL PROMOTE MOISTURE TRANSPORT AND ENHANCE MID LEVEL INSTABILITY TODAY WITH AN INCREASE IN AREAL COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TODAY WHEN COMPARED TO YESTERDAY. EXPECT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO BE SLOW MOVERS AS STEERING WINDS BECOME LIGHT FROM THE SOUTHEAST. ON WED...TROF AXIS WILL CROSS THE LOCAL AREA AT TIME OF PEAK HEATING AND SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INVERTED SFC TROF AXIS ACROSS PR. MODELS SHOW PLENTY OF SFC AND UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT FOR WIDESPREAD SHRA/TSRA ACTIVITY. STEERING WINDS COLLAPSE WITH MODELS SHOWING CALM WINDS IN THE 0-6KM LAYER. POTENTIAL EXITS FOR WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING DUE TO STRONG FORCING...DEEP MOISTURE...INSTABILITY...VERY SLOW STORM MOTION AND FVRBL RIGHT ENTRANCE JET DYNAMICS. TROF AXIS PULLS OUT WED NIGHT WITH ECMWF INDICATING UPPER LEVEL CONVERGENCE LEADING TO A DROP IN H85 THETAE AND PW VALUES. THE DRYING TREND CONTINUES THROUGH SAT. ON SUN...MODELS SHOW RISING PW VALUES AS ANOTHER TROF OVR THE BAHAMAS PROMOTES MOISTURE AND TRANSPORT AND INSTABILITY. RIGHT NOW...GLOBAL MODELS ARE PORTRAYING A VERY WET SCENARIO EARLY NEXT WEEK. AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS ALL TAF SITES AT LEAST UNTIL THIS MORNING. AFTERNOON SHRA/ISOLD TSRA ARE EXPECTED AGAIN OVER THE INTERIOR AND NORTH SECTIONS OF PR. THEREFORE...MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS AND PERIODS OF MVFR CONDS ARE PSBL BTWN 14/17-22Z. FCST SOUNDINGS HAVE SOUTHEAST WINDS AT 10-15 KTS UP TO 2 KFT FOR THIS MORNING. MARINE...SEAS MAINLY 2-4 FT. TSTMS WILL BE THE MAIN HAZARD. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SJU 88 76 87 76 / 40 0 20 20 STT 86 79 86 79 / 20 20 20 40 && .SJU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PR...NONE. VI...NONE. COASTAL WATERS...NONE. && 71/72
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 657 AM AST TUE MAY 14 2013 AMZ710>745-PRZ001>013-151000- 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- 657 AM AST TUE MAY 14 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE ADJACENT ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT INCREASING MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY AND THE APPROACH OF AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVERS AND MAY BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA WEDNESDAY AND TRIGGER AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE VERY SLOW MOVERS AND BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER REPORTS OF THREE INCHES OR MORE AND ANY FLOODING WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. AMZ715-725-VIZ001-002-151000- ST. THOMAS ST. JOHN ADJACENT ISLANDS-ST CROIX- NEARSHORE ATLANTIC AND ADJACENT CARIBBEAN COASTAL WATERS- 657 AM AST TUE MAY 14 2013 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. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A bridge collapsed due to a creek out of its banks and families were uncommunicated.
Rio Guayanes was reported out of its banks at Calabaza sector.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Puerto Rico, May 2013
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: 457174, 457175.