It doesn't happen often, and it's always a surprise when it does, but we had what amounted to snow in the Valley on Wednesday afternoon.

A rainbow is visible near Papago Peak amid the storm clouds Wednesday. This was the view from Tempe. (Photo by Tracy Greer - KJZZ)

Valerie Myers of the National Weather Service in Phoenix says the white stuff that blanketed Valley lawns wasn't really snow.

"It's producing quite a bit of graupel, or basically very small, soft hail. Looks like pieces of rice or small, little teeny pellets, and in that mix there's also probably a little bit of snow," Myers said.

The storm forced nine flights that were headed to Tucson to be diverted to Phoenix or other airports.