Lightning delays start of Monday Night Football game in Los Angeles

At least a dozen people flocked to Hilltop Park to catch a glimpse of the lightning as intermittent rain fell over the city" in Signal Hill on Monday, October 4, 2021. 

(Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram / Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES -- In a twist of irony, the start of the NFL game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders was delayed Monday evening.

By lightning.

Several thunderstorms were moving through the Los Angeles area as an upper level low tracked across Southern California.

"We are experiencing numerous lightning strikes across the greater Los Angeles area," tweeted officials with the Los Angeles Fire Department. They advised residents to stay inside until the storms passed.

Lightning also made its way to Inglewood, home to SoFi Stadium, where the Monday Night Football game between the Raiders and Chargers – the team with a lightning bolt painted right on their helmet - was just set to get underway.

The stadium is covered but not completely enclosed, and as a safety measure, kickoff was delayed about 40 minutes.

Those taking in the warm day at the beach were sent away too as the storms approached. All Los Angeles County beaches were closed as lightning came, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.

The rainfall will be showery, meaning some areas could dodge the rain while others will be picked on a bit.  Some of the showers may last long enough to bring minor flooding issues.

Any rainfall that makes it into Downtown Los Angeles will be the first in quite some time. The rain gauge at the USC campus has only measured one day of rainfall since June 26 -- a paltry 0.01 inches on Sept. 10. 

The showers will hurry off to the east by Tuesday morning, leaving the rest of the day as a more familiar dry and sunny day, though temperatures will be a tad below average, dropping into the mid-upper 70s. 

Cooler air spills into the region later in the week, with high temperatures dropping into the mid-60s to near 70. Overnight lows in the outlying areas will fall into the 50s.