Photos: Southern California snow: Storm blankets mountains

A rare sight in Southern California features a snowy winter scene in a Robinson Ranch backyard.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

People enjoy the unusual sight of snow and snowmen off De Luz Road after the snow level dropped below 2,000 feet during Tuesday night’s winter storm just outside Murrieta.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Homes on the hillsides off Rancho California Road are covered in snow after the snow level dropped below 2,000 feet during Tuesday night’s winter storm north of Temecula.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Sledders enjoy the snow in an open field off De Luz Road.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Erik Castro of Robinson Ranch goes sledding down a hillside in Robinson Ranch.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Murrieta residents Shelby Dunn, Sara Bhatt and Victoria Acevedo break into laughter after crashing their sled into a bush on a slope at the end of Vineyard Parkway in Murrieta.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Murrieta resident Shelby Dunn holds on tightly to her sledding dish while she glides down a slope at the end of Vineyard Parkway in Murrieta.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Snow melts on a cactus on a hillside in Robinson Ranch.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Boats washed ashore in Avalon after an overnight storm on Catalina Island. Officials said a Harbor Patrol officer died in the storm.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Snow-covered palm trees after an unusual snowfall at Lake Elsinore.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

High winds blew down a huge pine tree onto a home in La Crescenta.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore after overnight snowstorm.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Ariana Zacarias, 16, right, with her mother Christina Barragan, 40, make a snowman in front of their home on Hillview Lane after an unusual snowfall in Lake Elsinore.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A snow-covered vehicle in Lake Elsinore.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Hillspring Road is covered in snow in Lake Elsinore.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A section of Wesley Street is blocked due to a fallen tree after the storm in Lake Elsinore.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A snowman stands on the sidewalk on Main Street in Old Town Temecula after a fast-moving winter storm dumped snow on several Riverside County communities.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Monica Siacoco, 18, of La Verne keeps warm under a blanket on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena on Wednesday while waiting to watch Thursday’s Rose Parade.   (Rob Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Tourists take pictures on Main Street in Old Town Temecula after a fast-moving winter storm dumped snow in several Riverside County communities.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Tourists take pictures on Main Street in Old Town Temecula after a fast-moving winter storm dumped snow in several Riverside County communities.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Snow surrounds homes on hills in Lake Elsinore.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Main Street in Old Town Temecula is slushy and cold after a fast-moving winter storm dumped a foot of snow in several moved through.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

New Year’s Eve blanket of snow in Temecula.  (Terri Hubbard / For the Los Angeles Times)

A blanket of snow left by an overnight storm covers the Santa Ana Mountains framed by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Aliso Viejo.  (Marc Martin / Los Angeles Times)

A rare dusting of snow in the Santa Ana Mountains.   (Mark Yemma / Los Angeles Times)

Highway 74 was closed Dec. 31 as plunging temperatures brought snow to Lake Elsinore.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A snowy morning Dec. 31 in Santiago Canyon in Orange County.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Snow covered local mountains amid a storm that brought snow to elevations as low as 2,000 feet above sea level.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Ortega Highway, connecting Riverside and Orange counties, was closed, with reports of stranded motorists early Wednesday.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The snow comes down in the predawn hours in Temecula on Dec. 31.  (Jamie Boster / For The Times)

Children in Temecula take advantage of a snowstorm Dec. 31.  (Jamie Boster / For The Times)

A child treks through the snow in Temecula in the New Year’s Eve 2014 storm.  (Jamie Boster / For The Times)

Riverside County sheriff’s deputies were on hand at the Ortega Highway road closure in Lake Elsinore.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Lake Elsinore was dusted in snow as a wet winter storm stranded motorists and iced over Southern California mountains.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)