Snow blankets hills around Petaluma

Petalumans woke up Tuesday morning to a rare spectacle - white snow dusted the normally green bucolic hills surrounding the city.

A steady stream of curious onlookers trekked up narrow winding roads on Sonoma Mountain, where several inches of snow remained down to 500 feet. Children skipped morning classes to frolic in the slushy snow.

“It’s awesome,” said Cash Deering, 10, a student at La Tercera Elementary School. “I can’t believe it snowed in Petaluma.”

“Super,” said his sister, Dublyn Deering, 7, as she finished a sledding run.

A rare combination of cold air and moisture brought the lowest measurable snow to the region since 2011, according to National Weather Service Forecaster Steve Anderson. He said snow was reported in the North Bay down to about 300 feet.

“It’s not unheard of, but it’s fairly rare,” he said. “It takes perfect timing.”

Petaluma resident Katarina Miller woke up Tuesday to stunning views of a snow-capped Sonoma Mountain. She headed up the mountain with her dog, Oreo, who had never seen snow before.

“We could see it from our window and we were so excited,” she said as she threw snowballs at Oreo. “She’s mildly unimpressed, though.”

Angela Wernhardt, a 19-year-old Santa Rosa Junior College student, said she does not remember the last time it snowed in Petaluma. But she wasn’t going to miss her chance to experience the rare event.

“The last time it snowed, I don’t remember it,” she said. “It’s a once in a lifetime thing. So beautiful.”

Sonoma State University students Michelle Luna and Yesenia Hernandez are from Southern California and Oakland, respectively, where it never snows. When they heard Monday night that it could snow, they decided to try and find it.

“The weather said it was going to snow, so we came to the highest point we could,” Luna said. “I’m from So Cal, and there is never any snow. I’m not used to it.”

Anderson said the brief dusting was likely the last low altitude snow for awhile. The weather should be cold and dry for the rest of the week, with rain expected by Friday and a chance of snow down to 3,000 feet.

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)