Afternoon burst of showers, and some hail, hits San Fernando Valley

The San Fernando Valley saw an afternoon mix of scattered downpours, hail, and lightning strikes.

According to the National Weather Service, scattered rain and mountain snow showers were expected through Monday afternoon in Los Angeles County. A very cold, for mid-April, upper low-pressure system hangs nearby to the north, bringing the brief downpours.

Heavier rain fell across the Valley beginning after noon,  from Stonehurst, Sun Valley, Hewitt, portions of Studio City, to Van Nuys and Panorama City.

In some areas, the rain fell close to one inch per hour. Light rain was seen in Moorpark and Simi Valley. The cell continued to move east in Glendale and Burbank, with lightning strikes reported.

NWS forecasters said the storms were accompanied by winds gusting up to 50 mph and hail. As the systems pushed eastward, storm warnings were issued in the San Gabriel Mountains and areas such as Pasadena, Sun Valley, Glendale, and La Canada Flintridge.

Sporadic storms were expected to remain possible into early evening Monday, according to the NWS.

A winter weather advisory was in effect until 7 p.m. Monday in areas including the San Gabriel Mountains and the 5 and 14 Freeway corridors. Forecasters said as much as 6 inches of snow could fall above 6,000 feet, accompanied by winds up to 45 mph.

Dry and warmer weather is expected the rest of this week.