Very unstable and moist air mass resulted in the development of numerous showers with thunderstorms across the eastern section of Puerto Rico. Areas of Fajardo, Luquillo and Ceiba received in excess of three inches in some localized area, resulting in flash flooding.
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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.
Very unstable and moist air mass resulted in the development of numerous showers with thunderstorms across the eastern section of Puerto Rico. Areas of Fajardo, Luquillo and Ceiba received in excess of three inches in some localized area, resulting in flash flooding.
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 Apr 28, 3:50 AM AST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR
350 AM AST THU APR 28 2016
.SYNOPSIS...FRONTAL BOUNDARY REMNANTS EXPECTED TO DISSIPATES ACROSS
THE ATLANTIC WATERS NORTH OF THE REGION. THIS MOISTURE IS
SUPPORTED BY A SURFACE TROUGH EXTENDING FROM HISPANIOLA ACROSS THE
ATLANTIC WATERS. A MID TO UPPER LEVEL TROUGH REMAINS NORTH OF THE
REGION. THESE FEATURES WILL MAINTAIN A MOIST AND UNSTABLE WEATHER
PATTERN ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS AND SURROUNDING WATERS FOR THE
NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.
&&
.DISCUSSION...DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR OVERNIGHT AND EARLY THIS
MORNING DEPICTED SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS MOSTLY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC WATERS AS WELL AS ACROSS
THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN SECTIONS OF PUERTO RICO. THIS ACTIVITY IS
THE RESULT OF ABUNDANT MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH A FRONTAL BOUNDARY
REMNANTS TO THE NORTH OF THE REGION AIDED BY A SURFACE TROUGH OVER
HISPANIOLA AND A MID TO UPPER LEVEL TROUGH JUST TO THE NORTH OF
THE REGION. THIS IS ALMOST THE SAME WEATHER PATTERN THAT PERSISTED
OVER THE FORECAST AREA FOR THE PAST DAYS.
TODAY AND FRIDAY WILL BE SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS DAYS. THE
COMBINATION OF THIS FEATURES WITH DAYTIME HEATING AND LOCAL
EFFECTS WILL RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
ALONG CORDILLERA CENTRAL LATE IN THE MORNING AND EARLY IN THE
AFTERNOON...MOVING BY MID AFTERNOON ACROSS OTHER PORTIONS OF THE
ISLANDS. THE GFS MODEL GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT THE AFTERNOON
CONVECTION WILL MOVE SLOWLY TOWARD THE NORTHWEST ACROSS THE
NORTHWEST QUADRANT OF PUERTO RICO. THE MID TO UPPER LEVEL WINDS
REMAIN FROM THE NORTHWEST AND THEREFORE SOME THUNDERSTORMS
ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER EASTERN AND EASTERN INTERIOR
PUERTO RICO AS WELL AS OVER PARTS OF THE USVI. THEREFORE...A MOIST
AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL CONTINUE TO PREVAIL ACROSS THE LOCAL
ISLANDS THROUGH AT LEAST THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. DUE TO ALREADY
SATURATED SOILS...HEAVY RAINS COULD LEAD TO URBAN AND SMALL STREAM
FLOODING.
IN THE LONG TERM...THE GFS MODEL GUIDANCE DEPICTED ABUNDANT DEEP
TROPICAL MOISTURE MOVING ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS FROM SOUTH
AMERICA BY THE UPCOMING WEEK. STAY TUNED.
&&
.AVIATION...PREVAILING VFR CONDS THRU 28/14Z...WITH SFC WND CALM TO
LGT/VRB FOR PR TERMINALS. LGT WND MAINLY FM E AT TISX/TIST AND
TNCM/TKPK. SCT LYRS 018-025...SCT OCNL BKN 030...050 AND BKN-OVC LYR
100-120. SCT SHRA OVR ERN PR AND COASTAL WATERS BTW PR AND NRN
LEEWARDS. ISOLD TSRA OVR LOCAL WATERS MAX TOPS 350-400. BRIEF MTN
TOP OBSCR PSBL IN SHRA/LOW CLD CIG OVR ERN PR TIL 28/14Z. AFT 28/15Z
SHRA DVLPMNT LIKELY OVR NRN AND W PR AND WITH ISOLD TSRA AT TJBQ AFT
28/16Z. ADDITIONAL SHRA PSBL AT TJSJ...TJNR 28/18Z-23Z. WINDS WILL
CONT FM ESE EXCEPT WITH SEA BREEZE VARIATIONS DEVELOPING AFT 28/14Z
WITH WND 10-15KT OCNL HIR GUSTS.
&&
.MARINE...SEAS UP TO 6 FEET EXPECTED TODAY AND FRIDAY...DECREASING
SLIGHTLY FOR THE WEEKEND. THERE IS STILL A HIGH RISK OF RIP
CURRENTS FOR THE ATLANTIC COASTS OF PUERTO RICO AND CULEBRA.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SJU 87 76 88 75 / 60 40 50 40
STT 84 76 83 76 / 50 50 50 40
&&
.SJU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PR...HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR CULEBRA-NORTH
CENTRAL-NORTHEAST-NORTHWEST-SAN JUAN AND VICINITY-SOUTHEAST-
WESTERN INTERIOR.
VI...NONE.
AM...NONE.
&&
09/72HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JUAN PR 709 AM AST THU APR 28 2016 AMZ710>745-PRZ001>013-282315- 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- 709 AM AST THU APR 28 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE ADJACENT ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT .THUNDERSTORMS...THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL AND BRIEF GUSTY WINDS ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL... EASTERN AND NORTHERN SECTIONS OF PUERTO RICO TODAY. .FLOODING...HEAVY RAINS WILL LEAD TO FLOODING OF URBAN AREAS...RIVERS AND SMALL STREAMS. .WIND...SUSTAINED WINDS IN EXCESS OF 20 MPH/17KNOTS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE ISLANDS...LOCAL WATERS AND PASSAGES. .WAVES...CHOPPY/ROUGH SEAS OF 5 TO 6 FEET EXPECTED ACROSS ATLANTIC WATERS AND CARIBBEAN PASSAGES. .RIP CURRENTS...THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS FOR THE NORTH-FACING BEACHES OF PUERTO RICO INCLUDING CULEBRA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE AT LEAST UNTIL FRIDAY ACROSS THE NORTH BEACHES OF PUERTO RICO AND CULEBRA. A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL CONTINUE TO PREVAIL ACROSS THE LOCAL ISLANDS THROUGH AT LEAST THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. DUE TO ALREADY SATURATED SOILS...HEAVY RAINS COULD LEAD TO URBAN AND SMALL STREAM/RIVER FLOODING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WIDESPREAD SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED, HOWEVER INDIVIDUAL SPOTTER ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY HIGH WINDS WINDS WITH THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY...FLOODING AND RIP CURRENTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN JUAN. AMZ715-725-VIZ001-002-282315- ST. THOMAS ST. JOHN ADJACENT ISLANDS-ST CROIX- NEARSHORE ATLANTIC AND ADJACENT CARIBBEAN COASTAL WATERS- 709 AM AST THU APR 28 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT .THUNDERSTORMS...THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL AND BRIEF GUSTY WINDS THIS AFTERNOON. .FLOODING...HEAVY RAINS COULD LEAD TO URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING. .WIND...SUSTAINED WINDS IN EXCESS OF 20 MPH/17KNOTS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE ISLANDS...LOCAL WATERS AND PASSAGES. .WAVES...CHOPPY/ROUGH SEAS OF 5 TO 6 FEET EXPECTED ACROSS ATLANTIC WATERS AND THE LOCAL PASSAGES. .RIP CURRENTS...THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS FOR PART OF THE NORTHERN COASTLINE OF ST THOMAS AND THE EAST END OF SAINT CROIX. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS ACROSS THE NORTHERN BEACHES OF SOME OF THE ISLANDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WIDESPREAD SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED, HOWEVER INDIVIDUAL SPOTTER ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY FLOODING...HIGH WINDS AND RIP CURRENTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN JUAN.
The San Juan radar (TJUA), 24 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:00 UTC.
3 flash flood, 2 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A mudslide was reported at road 901, Los Colones sector in Yabucoa.
Highway PR-3 was impassable due to Quebrada Huertas out of its banks.
A Skywarn observer reported three inches (3 inches) over Fajardo.
Conquistador Avenue was reported impassable due to flood waters.
Flooded roads were reported at Bebe Calzada sector in Fajardo.
Rio Sabana was reported out of its banks near Barrio Sabana and Barrio Pitahaya. |It was reported that river waters were reaching and elementary school near Barrio Pitahaya.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Puerto Rico in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Puerto Rico, April 2016
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: 633043, 633046, 633047, 633049, 633052, 633053.