By AMY GRAFF NYTimes News Service
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The Santa Ana winds that have fueled wildfires for weeks in Southern California finally stopped blowing Friday, and an unusually long period of dry weather was on track to end in Los Angeles County as a cold storm arrived late Saturday.

The system was expected to deliver light to moderate rain that will fall intermittently through Monday. The weather will give the arid landscape and withered vegetation a much-needed soaking and benefit firefighting crews.

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Still, the forecast showed a small risk that bursts of heavy rain could cause flash floods and mudslides around areas of Los Angeles County recently scarred by wildfires, including the northwest (Hughes fire), east (Bridge fire), southwest (Franklin and Palisades fires) and especially the central area where the Eaton fire burned.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for those areas from 10 a.m. Sunday to 4 p.m. Monday, when there is the highest chance for rain and risk for thunderstorms.

Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the weather service, called flooding the worst-case scenario for the conditions in Los Angeles, where there is up to a 20% chance that debris flows could damage roads and structures.

“What we’re telling people is to avoid the area during the watch period,” Lund said. “Use sandbags to protect your property, and if residents decide to stay, make sure to stock up on supplies in case road access is blocked.”

The Los Angeles area has seen its driest start to the rainy season on record and has not measured significant rainfall since last spring. Since May 1, the weather service’s gauge in downtown Los Angeles has measured just a little more than a quarter-inch of rain.

This weekend’s expected storm has the potential to bring nearly four times that amount.

The burn scars in Los Angeles County, where trees and brush were devoured by flames, are most likely to benefit from the rain. “If we get gentle rains, it’s going to help make those burn areas recover and revegetate,” said Jayme Laber, a hydrologist with the weather service.

The first drops of rain began to fall Saturday night, with showers expected to increase Sunday into Monday. Most locations across the county, including downtown Los Angeles, are expected to record up to an inch of rain in the storm.