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Puerto Rico Spanish, explained

The Spanish words Puerto Rico news is full of, from weather alerts to agency initials, each in the English 787daily uses for it and one line on what it means.

Reviewed October 15, 2026

Weather alerts and forecasts

The weather service's Spanish products and the forecast words a translation most often gets wrong. Weather and alerts, live.

advertencia: advisory; An advisory: a less serious hazard than a warning that can still be dangerous or disruptive. Not a warning, though a translation often calls it one.
advertencia de calor: heat advisory; Heat advisory: the heat index is forecast to reach levels that can cause heat illness, especially for people outdoors or without air conditioning.
advertencia de inundaciones: flood advisory; Flood advisory: rain is causing or will cause minor flooding (streets, poor drainage), less serious than a flood warning.
advertencia de marejada: high surf advisory; High surf advisory: large breaking waves and dangerous currents along the coasts named. Stay out of the water there.
aguaceroalso aguaceros: shower; Shower: a burst of rain. Never a waterfall (that is a cascada or salto), though machine translations often say so.
aguaceros aislados: isolated showers; Isolated showers: a few showers here and there; most places stay dry.
aguaceros dispersos: scattered showers; Scattered showers: showers over part of the area, not everywhere at once.
aviso: warning; A warning: the weather service's highest alert, issued when the hazard is happening or about to happen. Act now.
aviso de calor extremo: extreme heat warning; Extreme heat warning: dangerous heat is occurring or imminent, the weather service's highest heat alert.
aviso de inundaciones repentinas: flash flood warning; Flash flood warning: flooding is happening or about to, with little time to act. Move away from streams, rivers and low ground.
aviso de marejada: high surf warning; High surf warning: very large, dangerous surf is occurring or imminent on the coasts named.
calima: haze; Haze: dust in the air, usually Saharan dust, that dims the sky.
chubascoalso chubascos: shower; Shower: a brief burst of rain, often with gusty wind.
corriente de resacaalso corrientes de resaca: rip current; Rip current: a strong channel of water flowing away from the beach. Swim parallel to the shore to get out of one.
índice de calor: heat index; Heat index: how hot it feels when humidity is added to the air temperature.
inundaciones repentinas: flash flooding; Flash flooding: water that rises within minutes or a few hours of heavy rain, often in streams and low roads.
marejadaalso marejadas: swell; Swell or high surf: large waves arriving at the coast, often from a distant storm.
marejada ciclónica: storm surge; Storm surge: the rise of seawater pushed ashore by a tropical storm or hurricane, often its deadliest hazard.
onda tropicalalso ondas tropicales: tropical wave; Tropical wave: a moving area of low pressure that brings bands of showers and storms. Some later become tropical storms.
polvo del Sahara: Saharan dust; Saharan dust: dust from Africa carried across the Atlantic, which turns the sky hazy and lowers air quality.
tronadaalso tronadas: thunderstorm; Thunderstorm: a storm with lightning and thunder.
tronadas aisladas: isolated thunderstorms; Isolated thunderstorms: a few storms with lightning; most places stay dry.
tronadas dispersas: scattered thunderstorms; Scattered thunderstorms: storms with lightning over part of the area.
vaguadaalso vaguadas: trough; Trough: an elongated area of low pressure aloft that can make showers and storms more likely.
vigilancia: watch; A watch: conditions are favorable for the hazard to develop. Be ready to act if a warning follows.
vigilancia de calor extremo: extreme heat watch; Extreme heat watch: dangerous heat is possible in the coming days.
vigilancia de inundaciones: flood watch; Flood watch: conditions favor flooding in the area named. No flooding yet.

Water and the reservoirs

AAA's reservoir bands, fullest to emptiest, and the words of its service notices. Water and the reservoirs, live.

desborde: the Spilling band; AAA's top reservoir band: the water is at the spillway and the dam is releasing the excess.
seguridad: the Safe band; AAA's normal band: the reservoir holds enough for normal supply.
observación: the Watch band; Below normal: AAA watches the reservoir and urges customers to conserve.
ajustes: the Adjustments band; Operational adjustments, like lower water pressure or limits on service. Short for ajustes operacionales.
control: the Control band; Drought controls: the band at which AAA moves to rationing-level measures.
fuera de servicio: the Out of service band; Out of service: the water is too low for the intake to draw from.
camión cisternaalso camiones cisterna: water truck; A tanker truck that delivers water to neighborhoods without service.
embalse: reservoir; A reservoir behind a dam (also lago or represa in the news). AAA reads every reservoir's level each morning.
oasis: water distribution point; A site where a town or AAA hands out drinking water during an interruption.
plan de interrupciones programadas: scheduled interruptions plan; AAA's published calendar of service interruptions by zone, its name for a rationing plan.
planta de filtros: filtration plant; A water treatment plant. AAA's rationing plans are drawn by plant: the towns a plant serves share its calendar.
racionamiento: rationing; Water rationing: AAA's scheduled service interruptions, in which areas take turns with water. The live status is on the water page.

Agencies and public bodies

The offices that appear in the news, by the Spanish name and initials the outlets use. Government contracts, Contract Watch.

AAAAutoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados: Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority; The public water and sewer utility for the whole island. It publishes the reservoir levels and the rationing calendars.
AAFAFAutoridad de Asesoría Financiera y Agencia Fiscal: Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority; The government's fiscal agent and financial adviser, its counterpart to the Oversight Board on budgets and debt.
ACTAutoridad de Carreteras y Transportación: Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority; The highway authority, which builds and maintains the main highways.
AEEAutoridad de Energía Eléctrica: Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority; The public power utility (PREPA in English). It still owns the grid and the plants; LUMA Energy runs the grid and Genera PR the plants.
ASESAdministración de Seguros de Salud: Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration; The agency that runs the government health plan (Plan Vital), Puerto Rico's Medicaid program.
CEEComisión Estatal de Elecciones: State Elections Commission; The State Elections Commission, which runs elections and voter registration.
CFSECorporación del Fondo del Seguro del Estado: State Insurance Fund Corporation (workers' compensation); The State Insurance Fund: the public workers' compensation insurer every employer must carry.
CRIMCentro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales: Municipal Revenue Collection Center; The agency that administers property tax for the 78 towns: on real estate, and on the business property (equipment, inventory) owners declare to it each year. The business return
DACODepartamento de Asuntos del Consumidor: Consumer Affairs Department; Consumer protection: complaints against businesses, price surveys (including fuel) and the rules for gas stations and rentals.
DDECDepartamento de Desarrollo Económico y Comercio: Department of Economic Development and Commerce; The economic development department. It grants and audits Act 60 tax-incentive decrees.
DRNADepartamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales: Department of Natural and Environmental Resources; Natural resources and environment: state forests, reserves, beaches' water-quality notices and the reservoirs it owns.
DTOPDepartamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas: Department of Transportation and Public Works; Transportation and public works: driver's licenses and vehicle registration (through CESCO offices) and state roads.
DTRHDepartamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos: Department of Labor and Human Resources; The labor department: unemployment insurance, the state disability insurance and labor law.
HaciendaDepartamento de Hacienda: Treasury Department; The Treasury: income tax, the sales and use tax (IVU) and merchant registration, through its online system SURI.
JPJunta de Planificación: Puerto Rico Planning Board; The Planning Board: land-use planning, zoning maps and the island's economic statistics.
JRSPJunta Reglamentadora de Servicio Público: Public Service Regulatory Board; The Public Service Regulatory Board, home of the Energy Bureau (NEPR) that sets power rates.
JSFJunta de Supervisión Fiscal: Financial Oversight and Management Board; The federal Oversight Board created by PROMESA in 2016 ("la Junta"). It certifies the government's budgets and fiscal plans.
La Fortaleza: the Governor's office; The Governor's official residence and office in Old San Juan; in the news, the Governor's administration.
NMEADNegociado para el Manejo de Emergencias y Administración de Desastres: Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Bureau; The emergency management bureau. It coordinates the government's response to storms, quakes and floods.
OCPROficina del Contralor: Office of the Comptroller; The Comptroller's Office: it audits public bodies and keeps the public registry of government contracts.

Civic life

Words from town halls, the Legislature and daily paperwork. Bills in the Legislature.

alcalde: mayor; A town's elected mayor (alcaldesa for a woman), elected every four years.
Cámara de Representantes: House of Representatives; The lower chamber of the Legislature. Its bills are numbered P. de la C. (PC).
comerciante: merchant; Anyone who sells goods or services; in Hacienda's forms, a registered business.
IVU: sales and use tax; Impuesto sobre Ventas y Uso: the sales tax charged at the register. Filing it
municipio: town; One of Puerto Rico's 78 municipalities, each with a mayor (alcalde) and a municipal legislature. Our copy says town.
patente municipal: municipal business license tax; The yearly tax a business pays each town where it operates, on its volume of business. Each town sets its rate. Filing it
proyecto de ley: bill; A bill. P. de la C. is a House bill and P. del S. a Senate bill; a R. C. is a joint resolution.
Registro de Comerciantes: merchant registration; Hacienda's Merchant Registry: every place of business registers in SURI at least 30 days before it opens and posts the certificate where the public can see it. Getting one
Senado: Senate; The upper chamber of the Legislature. Its bills are numbered P. del S. (PS).
SURI: Hacienda's online tax system; Sistema Unificado de Rentas Internas: Hacienda's portal for tax returns, merchant registration and the IVU.

Where the English comes from. The English for each term is the one our own stories use, from the same tables the summaries are written with. The weather alerts follow the National Weather Service's definitions of a warning, a watch and an advisory; the agencies' lines are from their own pages. Spotted a term we should add, or one out of date? Let us know.

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