The final victim of a boating accident on Lake Tahoe, which occurred during a severe and unexpected weekend thunderstorm, was recovered on Monday, raising the total number of fatalities to eight.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the 27-foot Chris-Craft vessel, carrying ten passengers, capsized near D.L. Bliss State Park on the lake's southwestern periphery Saturday afternoon, as a sudden storm generated unexpectedly high waves.

Two people were immediately rescued and taken to a hospital, though their condition was not known. Six bodies were found later on Saturday, and a seventh body was discovered on Sunday evening, as reported by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. Divers searched a part of Lake Tahoe and located the final body on Monday afternoon.

Sergeant Kyle Parker stated that the victims' identities would remain confidential pending notification of their next of kin.

While there have been tragic drownings and other accidental deaths on the lake recently, serious boating accidents with many deaths are uncommon. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department told KCRA-TV in 2022 that about six people die on the lake each summer, though 2021 had a record 15 deaths. The department could not immediately give the most recent numbers.

The thunderstorm's strength surprised even experienced forecasters. They had expected some rain, but not the powerful storm that hit the southern part of the lake around 3 p.m., explained meteorologist Matthew Chyba from the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada. Winds reached over 35 mph (56 kph), and waves grew to more than 8 feet (2.5 meters).

"Chyba admitted that the intensity had surpassed their expectations."

He stated that the temperatures in the area were much lower than usual for this time of year, which might have made the air mass unstable.

Chyba characterized the eight-foot waves on Lake Tahoe as "pretty significant," adding that "they were really churning up the lake."

Lake Tahoe stands as a prominent summer recreational haven, drawing in a multitude of boaters, kayakers, and paddleboarders. This pristine body of water, characterized by its exceptionally frigid temperatures, straddles the border between California and Nevada, distinguishing itself as one of the nation's most profound lakes, surpassed in depth solely by Oregon's Crater Lake.

Authorities have not yet given specific information about the people on the boat that overturned, nor have they stated if it was rented or privately owned.

The severe storm on Saturday ended in about two hours.

On Saturday, Brittany Glick was celebrating a friend's bachelorette party with seven others on a rented pontoon boat when the weather suddenly changed. The wind picked up, the waves grew larger, and the temperature dropped, making it hard to see. Glick explained on Monday that the day had started sunny but quickly became difficult.

She described the experience as feeling like the beginning of a tsunami, something she had never encountered before.

After about an hour of navigating increasingly rough waters, which soaked the passengers, the boat returned to the dock, and it started to hail.

Glick described the difficult experience, saying that seeing the boats overturned was very disturbing. He also mentioned that the extremely cold water made them completely numb and shake uncontrollably, and his hands and feet were turning blue. Thinking back on it, he said it was one of the most frightening situations he had experienced in thirty years, highlighting how quickly and powerfully the storm arrived.

KCRA-TV obtained video footage depicting moored vessels colliding at a local marina, buffeted by powerful gusts of wind.