Rome, which had only seen snow once in the last 33 years, just got hit with a rare 'Beast from the East' storm — even priests at the Vatican came out to play

Rome wasn't built in a day, and it wasn't built for snow, either. 

In fact, the Italian capital had seen white powder only once in the past 33 years, until Monday.

That's when thermostats at the Vatican dipped below freezing, shocking priests and nuns who got stuck in the snow. Even the army had to be called in to help clear the Roman streets, Reuters reported. 

But the Romans aren't the only ones shaking in their bitterly-cold boots. Across Europe, people are dealing with a blast of cold air this week, as a so-called "Beast from the East" moves across Europe, bringing chilly, extreme weather in from Siberia.

Scientists are pointing out that it's all part of a disturbing trend: the polar jet stream has been acting weird lately, and the North Pole is actually warmer than parts of Europe this week. 

Meteorologist Eric Holthaus called it a "shocking sign of our Earth's accelerating planetary fever."

Take a look at how Italy looks in the snow:

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Roman temperatures normally never dip below zero.

The average low temperature for February should be 3.5 degrees Celsius or 38 Fahrenheit, while the high is typically near 13 Celsius or 55 Fahrenheit, according to the World Meteorological Association.

But on Monday, the temperature in the city dropped below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, or -7 Celsius.

More than four inches of snow fell in four hours at the airport, Reuters reported. 

The city ground to a halt, closing schools and urging residents to stay home.

Roman city officials asked places more used to seeing snow if they could borrow snow plows, according to Reuters.