By Reginald Stanley. Posted March 12, 2020, 3:28 PM.

Since noon on Thursday, persistent heavy rain with high rainfall rates has affected the region, as low pressure taps into subtropical moisture, producing convection and stratiform rainfall across a very wide area.

Thunder and sporadic lightning strikes have been reported near foothill and mountain ranges Thursday afternoon, as heavy precipitation continues to pound the region. The National Weather Service has subsequently issued a Flash Flood Watch for southwestern Riverside County through 9 PM Thursday, as well as Flood Advisories and a Flash Flood Warning for other portions of the Inland Empire, mountains and even deserts for the same time period. Hourly rainfall rates for inland communities Thursday afternoon have averaged around 0.5 inches, with some of the highest preliminary storm totals occurring at WeatherCurrents' stations in both Hemet and French Valley. Minor street flooding has been observed in parts of the Temecula Valley.

Rain is expected to continue into Thursday night, tapering off to showers by Friday morning.