Thunderstorm Wind — El Dorado, California

2025-06-21 · near Fallen Leaf, El Dorado, California

Direct deaths

39 MG

Magnitude

Event narrative

Buoy data on Lake Tahoe indicated a northerly wind gust of 45 mph from nearby showers and collapsing thunderstorms. This caused significant waves on Lake Tahoe, with multiple boats damaged and one boat capsized near Emerald Bay, causing 8 fatalities out of the 10 on board. The two that survived were wearing life jackets, while the other 8 did not.

Wider weather episode

A strong upper level low pressure impacted the area from June 19th through the 21st which brought significant winds for late June. This was combined with very low humidity which lead to several days of fire weather concerns. Some light rain and snow was recorded in far northern Washoe and Lassen counties the morning of the 21st.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.9750, -120.0810)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1264161. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.