Excessive Heat in Sonoma Coastal Range, California

A 51-year old man drowned in the Russian River on Saturday July 6. A group of paddleboarders noticed a commotion near the Bohemian Highway Bridge around 6:40 PM and noticed the man in distress. They attempted CPR until fire officials arrived and attempted life saving measures for 25 minutes until he was pronounced dead.

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.