Power Lines, Trees Downed As Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore Hit By Monsoon [PHOTOS, VIDEO]

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Thunderstorms dropped dumped rain across Southwestern Riverside County on Thursday afternoon. Reports from the National Weather Service indicted that Lake Elsinore was the last local area to be hit by the storm. Both Temecula and Murrieta also saw rain, lightning and thunder.

Trees have been reported down, and electricity was out in several areas. A severe thunderstorm warning was temporarily issued for the area as well. Images from the area showed widespread damage, including downed power lines and trees in the roadways.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning continues for Wildomar CA, Sedco Hills CA until 3:30 PM PDT pic.twitter.com/LgYJyGFLck
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) August 31, 2017

Dubbed a "micro burst," more than half an inch of rainfall was recorded in Lake Elsinore, shattering an Aug. 31 record of eight-tenths of an inch from 1929. Rain, thunder, lightning and hail were seen in several western county cities, bringing somewhat cooler temperatures to the Inland Empire during this week's heat wave.

Numerous power poles down in Wildomar along Corydon Street. Police on scene, we are doing storm survey #Monsoon2017 pic.twitter.com/58bv6uPNzp
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) September 1, 2017

"This afternoon, the region and Wildomar experienced a fast moving micro burst with lots of rain, thunder and lightning," Wildomar city officials said in a news release. "This weather event has caused many concerns throughout the community including many downed powerlines, trees and outages."

City leaders noted the following "key updates" for Lake Elsinore and Wildomar as a result of the storm:

• Abandoned Structure Fire in Wildomar @ Lakeview/Mt. View
• Corydon @ Grand/Palomar completely shut down due to multiple power lines down, Note Closure
• maybe 2-3 days
• Mission Trail @ Olive/Corydon completely shut down due to multiple power lines down
• Sumner @ Scrivner completely shut down due to multiple power lines down and vegetation fire
• Shelia at Grand Ave – Tree down
• Gruwell – Tree Down
• Lake closed due to weather
• Grand Avenue is closed both ways from Wells St. to the shopping center at Corydon
• Cemetery-Palomar street and Post Office – Palomar Street – Tree Down
• Windsong park – Tree Down

Prior to the storms, Lake Elsinore also set a new Aug. 31 heat record of 112 degrees, while Riverside also broke records by reaching the 112-degree mark.

In Idyllwild, temperatures matched a 94-degree record dating back to 1950.

Meanwhile, the stifling heat that settled over Riverside County this week will persist into early next week as the weather system causing the high temperatures is now stationary over the western United States, the National Weather Service said.

Strong thunderstorm near Lake Elsinore #monsoon gusty winds heavy rain #cawx pic.twitter.com/bEwsbcPqo2
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) August 31, 2017

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Forecasters said the slightly cooler temperatures on Thursday should jump back up several degrees Friday and Saturday as the heat wave is expected to last longer than previously thought.

The forecast has prompted the weather service to extend an excessive heat warning for the second time this week. Initially set to expire Wednesday, the warning's expiration was pushed back to Friday night and now to Saturday night. That warning covers most of the county except for the mountains, where a less serious heat advisory is in effect for the same time period.

The NWS reminded residents that during an excessive heat warning, "persons working outdoors or those without access to adequate air conditioning will be more likely to experience heat-related illness, such as heat exhaustion. Some heat related illnesses are serious enough to require hospitalization and could become fatal if left untreated."

The weather service reminded residents to never leave children, seniors or pets unattended in cars; drink more water than usual and avoid alcohol, sugar and caffeine; wear light-colored clothing and a wide-brimmed hat outdoors to keep the head and body cooler; and take frequent rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned environments.

Main image courtesy: National Weather Service, San Diego / City News Service contributed to this report