That's not Tahoe: Mt. Tam looks like a winter wonderland after snow dusting

It's an unlikely sight.

The peak of Mt. Tamalpais, rising 2,572 feet above Marin County, looked as if it had been dusted with powdered sugar Tuesday morning.

A cold storm from the Northwest sweeping across the Bay Area dropped snow at unusually low levels, in some cases all the way down to 400 feet to 500 feet, on Monday and early Tuesday.

Mt. Tamalpais received several inches that accumulated on the top, creating a winter wonderland scene worthy of a snow globe.

When San Francisco resident Jeannette Flodell woke to the view of snowy mountains, she said, "For a brief second, I thought I had teleported back to Scandinavia, and wanted to bring out the x-country skis!"

MORE: Was it a 'snowbow' that formed over Mt. Tamalpais during 10-minute snow flurry Monday?

The Marin County Fire Department shared a photo of the snowy scene writing, "No, that's not Tahoe! Mt. Tam is picking up some of the fresh stuff."

Meteorologist Paul Deanno of KPIX tweeted Tuesday night, "Mt. Tamalpais has now (7 p.m.) dropped to 32 degrees. Any precipitation that falls through the night will likely be snow."

Deborah Villalon of KTVU shared a video of steady snowfall on the Marin Mountain Monday afternoon and wrote, "Right now it's snowing on East Peak of #MtTam! Sticking too."

Snow usually falls at least once a year on the Bay Area's highest mountains — such as Hamilton (4,265 feet elevation), Diablo (3,848 feet elevation) and St. Helena (4,341) — but it's less common on the lower-elevation Mt. Tamalpais.

ALSO: Here's where snowfall has been confirmed around the San Francisco Bay Area

The system was moving to the south Tuesday morning, with isolated storm cells delivering more rain and snow. Skies are expected to clear by the afternoon.