Video captures excited schoolchildren in California enjoying the novelty of playing in hailstorm

Low temperatures, high winds, snow, and heavy rain sent many Californians shivering back into their homes when a winter storm blanketed much of the state, but for a group of Pasadenaschool children it brought them something that they found exciting: hail.

A video captured the students’ glee as they ran outside to play in the hail. The children chased each other and looked to the sky as the tiny balls of frozen water fell onto their school. While most adults recoil at hail — which, when severe, can damage cars, homes, and even cause injuries — the children appeared to be delighted.

The hailstorm was part of a wide ranging weather system that moved across California on Friday and Saturday, dropping temperatures to near record lows in San Francisco and blanketing the state in enough snow to shut down the Grapevine section of Interstate 5 on Saturday.

The storm knocked out electricity for more than 100,000 power customers when it first hit on Friday, and at least one person was injured when the storm knocked a tree over, sending it crashing through the roof of a house.

Los Angeles County declared its first blizzard warning since the late 1980’s, and high winds produced a weak EF-0 tornado near LA.

While the children seemed to have a fun time further north, Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, warned that the inclement weather could be a “life or death” situation for the city’s unhoused population, and asked residents to help their neighbors find shelter.

The children weren’t the only ones having fun with the weather, however; CADE Vineyards shared a video of a snowboarder carving a course down a hill on its Napa Valley property, with lines of grapevines covered in snow visible in the background.

The weather system is currently moving eastward over the Sierra Nevada mountains, and will likely continue to dump snow on their peaks as it continues onward into the Great Basin. The National Weather Service in Las Vegas warned travellers to research their routes before traveling on Saturday and Sunday as the storm rolls over the Mojave Desert, as some roads may be closed due to its effects.