Lower Velma Lake in Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe on June 21, 2025. After the deadly Lake Tahoe boat accident, what to know about sudden changes in Sierra weather, whether you’re hiking, driving or on the water. (Courtesy of Matt Savener)
The powerful storm flipped their boat near the southern reaches of the lake, in a sudden weather shift that took aback beachgoers on the shore, who were expecting a warm summer day out on the lake, and also dusted nearby mountaintops with fresh snow.
This storm, known as a microburst, blew through the region quickly, bringing wind gusts up to 35 mph and creating waves up to 10 feet high, witnessed at the lake, according to the National Weather Service.
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“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Oakland resident Matt Savener, an avid backpacker who was on a camping trip in Desolation Wilderness, and who called off his attempt to summit Dick’s Peak when the storm rolled in. “And just with no warning whatsoever.”
Data from monitoring stations in Tahoe City since 1910 compiled by Jan Null, certified consulting meteorologist for Golden Gate Weather Services, shows snow in Tahoe in June is uncommon. Nonetheless, it does happen about once every five years.
Here’s what you need to know to stay prepared for any weather event when visiting the mountains in the summer, especially if you have never considered that these types of storms could happen to you at this time of year.
Always check the forecast, but prepare for the worst
Matthew Chyba, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that while these kinds of afternoon thunderstorms aren’t uncommon for Tahoe in the summer, the suddenness of this storm took many people by surprise.
@cnnA sudden storm rolled in over Lake Tahoe causing extreme conditions while people were enjoying a sunny summer day.♬ original sound – CNN
On the Saturday of the storm, the Tahoe region had “about a 30% to 50% chance of rain, with about a 15% chance for an isolated thunderstorm in there,” Chyba said, in addition to a dramatic temperature drop from the week’s warmer weather. “Calm conditions could turn really dangerous suddenly if a sudden shower or thunderstorm pops up.”
But Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Hunter Schnabel said the weather conditions around Lake Tahoe deteriorated so rapidly and unexpectedly over the course of the day that “even if you were paying attention to the forecast, you probably would not have seen this coming,” he said. So, preparing for any worst-case weather is key, Schnabel said.
“No matter what, when you’re headed out in the water, ensure you have all your safety equipment with you, you check the weather and have emergency plans,” he said. “Try to prepare for what you can with these incidents.”
If you’re out hiking, bring rain gear just in case
The U.S. Forest Service’s safety advice for Lake Tahoe visitors is clear: Every hiker, whether you’re out for a couple of hours or a couple of days, should keep in mind that weather conditions can change rapidly.
The site also advises travelers to carry a basic first aid kit, to try to save any dangerous travel for daylight hours and to check the weather before you go.
Matt Savener and his group of backpackers were heading to the summit of Dick’s Peak in Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe when a storm rolled through, dusting snow on the mountains on June 21, 2025. (Courtesy of Matt Savener)
Savener, who was using Lower Velma Lake as his group’s camping spot for three nights in Desolation Wilderness, said he checked the forecast before heading out and knew there would be some cold weather coming in, “so we packed accordingly,” he said.
Even so, he was the only hiker of his group to bring a rain layer; all his other friends only had puffy jackets, which soaked through easily. And when he used his InReach satellite messaging device to get the weather forecast the morning of the storm, it showed 0% chance of precipitation, “so we weren’t worried about precipitation at all,” he said. So with sunny skies overhead, he and his group headed out to summit Dick’s Peak.
By the time they got up to the pass, where you can see sweeping views of Lake Tahoe, he saw the storm gathering and the rain beginning from afar. Knowing how technical and exposed the terrain would be at the top, since summiting this peak requires some amount of rock scrambling, Savener decided to turn around just around 200 feet short of the top.
“The snow started shortly after we left Dick’s Pass and started to descend,” Savener said. “It snowed on us for a solid hour while we were hiking, and it collected quite a bit. There was probably about an inch of snow on the ground and on us.”
By the time they got back to camp, the weather had passed and the group “just enjoyed our luck, basically,” he said.
“If [the storm] had moved in any faster … that could have been super dangerous. That’s ‘fall and die’ kind of territory,” Savener said.
“The wilderness is humbling, and I learn something every time I go out there.”
Scnhabel said while the weekend storm was unexpected, it’s important to stay prepared for any weather event when visiting Tahoe. That includes having and using life jackets, no matter what size boat you are on.
“No matter what, when you’re headed out in the water, ensure you have all your safety equipment with you, you check the weather and have emergency plans,” Schnabel said.
“We can help you plan your trips based on water temperature, water currents, and wave heights,” said Cara Hollis, communications and marketing specialist at TERC.
… and watch for winds on the water
In the case of last weekend, the day went from calm to not-so-calm very quickly, which can happen as a storm builds in the basin, Hollis said.
“Winds do typically come in from the west, but that’s going to be extremely variable as winds swirl and then, of course, as storm directions change,” Hollis said.
Last weekend, “the storm came from the north,” Chyba said. “It traveled across the entire lake. And it was building up, building up and reached its peak in the southern part,” contributing to Saturday’s fatal boat accident.
Heading to the summit of Dick’s Peak in Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe as a storm rolled in, dusting snow on the mountains on June 21, 2025. (Courtesy of Matt Savener)
TERC’s wave height monitors only measure up to 5 feet, so they didn’t capture the full extent of the conditions last weekend, Hollis said. But data from their monitors at some locations does show the sharp decrease in water temperatures that the NWS reported.
“Typically, what happens when it’s very windy is you’ll get mixing, which will bring colder water up from deeper depths,” Hollis said. “That’s when you get those big temperature drops.”
Michael Cane, field lab director for TERC, said being able to recognize the signs of a storm coming in — and being ready to make decisions to keep yourself safe — is key.
“I’ll pay attention to large clouds falling over the mountains, which could signify thundershowers — or look in the distance to see if there’s whitecaps coming towards me,” Cane said.
“Don’t wait until [things] get so bad to where it’s actually a dangerous situation,” he urged.
