Rare snowfall in Malibu results in flurry of excitement

A rare dusting of snow in Malibu on Saturday surprised locals, with some drivers so delighted they pulled over to frolic in the foreign whiteness.

Officer Stephan Brandt of the California Highway Patrol said shortly after 5 p.m. his department had received a report of multiple drivers stopping and parking near the Malibu Canyon Tunnel.

“They were playing in the snow,” said Brandt, who advised such activities were “dangerous” and unwise.

On social media, the CHP’s West Valley Division posted messages urging motorists to “stop driving like it’s not raining,” with a later post showing snow along Malibu Canyon Road.

The snow may have also played a part in a pair of car accidents. A Jeep overturned shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Malibu Canyon Road. There were no injuries, and the vehicle was cleared about an hour later.

And a sedan drove over the side of the road on Kanan Dume Road near Newton Canyon at 11:25 a.m. One person was airlifted to a local hospital, their condition unknown.

“We’re asking that people drive slower than normal. There’s black ice out there and the road can be slippery,” said Lt. Gregory Evans, of the Sheriff’s Department’s Lost Hills station.

Pepperdine University’s student newspaper posted a photo of a truck plowing snow from the roadway.

Accidents aside, there was excitement over the snow.

An Instagram video from Neptune’s Net, a popular seafood restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, received more than 1,300 views, with commentators in disbelief over the sight of snow.