A layer of snow blanketed hills in Malibu, a seaside town popular with entertainment industry celebrities which is situated by the Pacific Ocean and is famous for its beaches and year-round sunshine.

Snow also fell on parts of metropolitan Los Angeles, with the upmarket neighborhood of Westwood receiving a dusting of flakes as the unseasonably low temperatures continued across California.

The weather forced transport authorities to close a major California highway north of Los Angeles early Wednesday.

A 60-kilometer (37-mile) stretch of the Interstate 5 which links Los Angeles to the state capital Sacramento was shut at around 9:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) and remained closed late in the afternoon.

A spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation said there had been several accidents on the freeway and it was not known when it would be re-opened.

"Motorists are advised to use an alternate route," the statement said.

California's temperatures have plunged to near-record lows, prompting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency.

The cold snap has devastated California's citrus fruit industry, with authorities forecasting losses of more than one billion dollars because of the damage to crops.