This summer, Californians have had to endure blistering heatwaves, raging wildfires – and now snow.

An unusually strong and rare snow system dusted California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range early Saturday, the first time snow has fallen in August in the so-called Golden State in more than 20 years.

About 3in fell in Lassen Volcanic national park, according to the weather service. But most areas just got a dusting with summertime temps returning 24 hours later.

The rare summer snowstorm nonetheless caused a record amount of rainfall in Redding, Red Bluff and Stockton in northern California on Saturday, the weather service said.

The “anomalous cool conditions” spread over much of the western US through Sunday morning, according to the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.