Two cold water drownings were discovered in the month of May due to area waterways running fast and cold from snowmelt. One occurred on the American River near Oregon Bar.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS STO wrote it up.
Two cold water drownings were discovered in the month of May due to area waterways running fast and cold from snowmelt. One occurred on the American River near Oregon Bar. Another occurred on the Sacramento River and was a 23 year old fisherman.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 18, 12:09 PM PST, 1 hour 51 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sacramento CA 109 PM PDT Sun May 18 2025 STDAFDSTO For additional details on weather and expected impacts over the next 7 days, please visit weather.gov/sto/briefing. .Discussion... .Synopsis... Red Flag Warning continues for Valley and Delta locations below 1000 feet through 8 PM PDT Monday. Several locations in the Valley have observed sustained north winds at 20-25 mph and gusts up to 35 mph this afternoon, along with humidity values in the upper teens and low/mid 20s. Upper level low pressure near the Four Corners Region is responsible for the breezy/gusty north winds and low RH values. Dry and sunny conditions are expected to continue through the rest of the work week. By Wednesday, winds will calm and offshore upper level ridging is forecast to dominate our synoptic pattern. Resulting afternoon high temperatures will climb into the low to mid 90s with areas of Moderate HeatRisk on Wednesday, then by Thursday and Friday a weak shortwave will move through the PacNW and promote onshore flow to help lower high temperatures with areas of Minor HeatRisk. && .Key Messages... * Red Flag Warning in effect from 8 am PDT Sunday through 8 pm PDT Monday for Valley and Delta locations below 1000 feet. * Today and Monday: -Breezy/Gusty north winds across the area, with low humidity values across the Valley and Delta. Critical fire weather conditions will continue today and tomorrow. -High temperatures warm on Monday to upper 80s low 90s, warmest temperatures in the northern San Joaquin Valley and central Sacramento Valley. * Tuesday - Saturday: -Warming trend expected early to mid week, with areas of Minor HeatRisk across the Valley. Moderate HeatRisk in the Valley on Wednesday. -North to east winds expected to remain diurnally breezy while very dry conditions prevail. -Elevated fire weather conditions anticipated. .Changes from previous forecast... -HeatRisk levels through the week have trended down; Wednesday Moderate HeatRisk remains. && .AVIATION... VFR conditions expected to prevail next 24 hours. Northerly wind gusts 15-30 kts across the Valley and Delta through 03z Wednesday. Strongest wind gusts are expected through 00z Tuesday. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 8 PM PDT Monday for Carquinez Strait and Delta-Central Sacramento Valley in Glenn, Colusa, Yuba, Northern Sutter, and Butte County Below 1000 Ft-Northern Sacramento Valley to Southern Tehama County Line Below 1000 Ft-Northern San Joaquin Valley in San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties Below 1000 ft-Southern Sacramento Valley in Yolo-Sacramento Far Western Placer, southern Sutter and Solano County Below 1000 Ft. &&
2 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Placer County Sheriff Office dive team discovered a body in the American River Sunday, May 18th, 2025 around 3 PM PDT in the Oregon Bar area of the river. Water temperatures at the time of body discovery were in the low 60s.
Local broadcast media shared information that crews found the body of a missing 23 year old fisherman who went into the water to cool down. He was walking in the river at waist level when he hit a drop off and was pulled underwater and struggled to swim. He went under the surface and never came back up. He was not wearing a life jacket. Water temperatures at the time were estimated to be between 65 and 70 degrees. The drowning occurred in Yolo County on the Sacramento River near Old River Road and Levee Road.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold/Wind Chill, Motherlode/Camptonville to Groveland | 2025-05-18 | In Water | Direct | ||
| Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Sacramento Valley | 2025-05-19 | 23 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 2025
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1249019, 1249023.