Excessive Heat in Sonoma Coastal Range, California

A 28-year old man drowned in the Russian River near the Patterson Point Preserve on Wednesday July 3, while seeking relief from the heat. Observers reported that the man was sucked down by a whirlpool around 6 PM and never came back on shore; his body was found near Monte Rio on Friday after a search.

A prolonged and extended heat wave impacted the state of California from the early to the middle of July. An upper level ridge set up over the region, leading to a historically long period of dangerous heat. The event resulted in the issuing of an Excessive Heat Warning for interior regions of the Bay Area and Central Coast, which extended From July 2 to the 10th and became the longest recorded Excessive Heat Warning issued by the NWS Bay Area.