Yes, That's Snow You Just Saw In Los Angeles

Fill up on gasoline! Raid store shelves! Break out the reporters in parkas! Okay, don't do any of those things but feel free to squeal with delight — we did — because it just snowed in Los Angeles.

Early Thursday afternoon, before 2 p.m., SoCal residents began reporting that snow was falling in their neighborhoods. These reports came from various parts of L.A. County, from Malibu, Thousand Oaks and Northridge to Eagle Rock, Santa Clarita and Pasadena — and people were excited.

One of these people was LAist food editor Elina Shatkin, who freaked out like a little kid when she saw the snow while she was moving her car out of one of Pasadena's rigorously enforced two-hour parking zones.

"Some of my colleagues who saw my video claim that this isn't snow, it is just hail," Shatkin says. "I disagree. Hail is pellets, right? These were NOT pellets. They melted pretty quickly but they were definitely flakes."*

KPCC/LAist education reporter Kyle Stokes was so excited about the snow he jumped for joy, and he is from Minnesota, so if he says it's snow, we believe him.

The National Weather Service agrees with Shatkin and Stokes.

We rarely see snow (or should we say graupel?) in this part of Southern California but it does happen. In 2011, it snowed in Burbank and other parts of Southern California. So #LAsnowpocalypse is no mere hashtag joke.

In all seriousness, it's cold out there and the roads will be slippery. So be careful.

Here are some more people who were amazed by the snow, including one of the kids from Stand By Me.

And just for fun, another picture of Kyle Stokes enjoying the rain.

*Editor's Note: Elina Shatkin also wrote this story so technically, she interviewed herself. That's how excited she was about the snow.