Flood watch remains in effect Monday as heavy rain hits SoCal

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Parts of Los Angeles County are under a flood watch until Monday as some residents report seeing small hail and heavy downpours.

The flood watch went into effect at 10 a.m. for fire-ravaged areas, which has been ground zero for the historic firestorms that have leveled thousands of homes and killed at least 28 people since first igniting on Jan. 7.

It will remain in effect until Monday afternoon in burn-scarred areas left by the Eaton, Palisades, Franklin, Bridge and Hughes fires.

A flash flood warning was issued for a couple of hours Sunday for the Palisades and Franklin burn areas as the National Weather Service warned that "life-threatening debris flow" could be possible.

The flash flood warning was issued at 7:40 p.m. and remained in effect until 11 p.m. on Sunday.

"This is a life threatening situation. Heavy rainfall will cause extensive and severe flash flooding of creeks, streams. and ditches in the burn scar. Severe debris flows are possible across roads," said the NWS. "A Flash Flood Warning for a recent burn area means that flooding and debris flows are imminent or occurring. Residents living in or immediately downstream should take immediate precautions to protect life and property."

Some locations that will experience flash flooding include Malibu, Malibu Creek State Park and Malibu Canyon and Las Virgenes Roads through the Santa Monica Mountains.

A flood advisory was in effect Sunday and expired at 4 p.m. It covered areas from Van Nuys and Hollywood, extending to Chatsworth, including the Hurst and Sunset burn Scars.

The National Weather Service said peak rain rates of 0.30 to 0.40 inches per hour will be likely.

The rain is forecast to be widespread but is expected to be light enough to avoid major flooding. But if a downpour spends enough time over one of the recent burn scars, a debris flow could become an issue.

Rain totals from the storm will mostly range from a half-inch to an inch, allowing for a decent soaking for the first time in months.

Some areas like Universal City, Koreatown, Studio City and Sherman Oaks saw downpours around noon. Some residents heard thunder at least twice.

Since June 1, Los Angeles has only picked up 0.03 inches of rainfall, which has allowed an extreme drought to develop across the area for the first time in two years.

In addition to rain, higher elevations of Southern California, including the San Gabriel Mountains straddling northern Los Angeles and western San Bernardino counties, are expecting snow, with areas above 4,000 feet getting up to 14 inches of powder.

The rain and snow forecast comes as firefighters continued to battle five active fires on Sunday from Ventura County north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border south of San Diego.

ABC News contributed to this report.