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The city of Huntington Beach has released time lapse video of the rare and historic hail storm that created a winter wonderland in the area.

A stunning time lapse video released by the National Weather Service captured a hailstorm that hit Huntington Beach on March 2, 2015.
A stunning time lapse video released by the city of Huntington Beach captured a hailstorm that hit the area on March 2, 2015.

The video captured the hail before, during and after it began covering the beach, which was around 10:20 a.m. Monday, according to the weather service.

The National Weather Service reported that the hail was the first ever the agency had on record in Huntington Beach.

Between half-and inch to an inch of the pea-sized hail fell in the area, forecasters said, leaving the famous pier and sand blanketed in a dusting of wintry white for a period of hours.

Some said at first glance they thought the hail was actually snow.

“It’s rare — I really haven’t seen it before,” Brenden Sallstrom said. “You’ve got the snow and you’ve got the beach here, combined in one. … I’d like to think it’s snow.”

Surfers looking to take advantage of the rare weather event turned skimboards into makeshift snowboards and used them to traverse the bunny-like beach slopes until the slushy hail melted early in the afternoon.

Monday’s wild weather occurred on the last day of a winter weather advisory in Southern California.

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated where the time lapse video came from. This post has been updated.