Residents of southwestern Riverside County woke up Sunday morning, November 21st, 2004 to a mixture of snow and rain. Snowflakes could be seen in eastern Hemet, Sage, and beyond, in the most widespread snow event in southwest Riverside County in nearly 20 years. Central Hemet apparently did not receive any snow, despite being at an altitude above the 1000 foot snow level for the morning.

The unusual type of storm that hit the region on Sunday is referred to as an "inside slider". The low pressure system was actually over Nevada, and hit the inland valleys with wrap-around moisture from the northeast. Most storm systems that deposit rainfall in Southern California come from a westerly direction.

Most forecasts for the area had only predicted a chance of showers for Saturday night and Sunday morning, and less than a tenth of an inch of total rainfall.

Snow was also reported nearby in Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar, La Cresta, De Luz, Lake Elsinore, Menifee and Sun City, with accumulations of an inch or more.

See a list of all past weather happenings in the Hemet area over the past year on the Features page. Also see the related story about Temecula Valley snow.

Emailed reports by Robert Leonard contributed to this story.

Pictures were contributed by Ian Schoenleber, Robert Leonard, and Bob Leonard. Video was contributed by Robert Leonard. so patient while we processed them!

• Eastern Hemet snowfall video