Posted December 8, 2009, 9:27 AM.

The soaking began in the early morning, before 6am, and lasted through the 5pm hour, snarling traffic. Only minor flooding was reported, despite the downpour, probably due to mostly dry conditions to this point in the season.

Rainfall was heaviest to the south, and lightest to the north, following an often-seen pattern for winter storms.

Of the twelve WeatherCurrents stations, Fallbrook recorded the highest total, with 1.93". Fallbrook was closely followed by De Luz at 1.90", Murrieta at 1.83" and Temecula at 1.78".

A notable rain total in the Temecula Valley Wine Country was 2.1", recorded by Jim Sappington.

In the middle of Riverside County, French Valley received 1.57", Hemet got 1.47", Wildomar recorded 1.41", Lake Elsinore got 1.32" and Menifee received 1.14".

To the north, Moreno Valley chalked up 0.97" and Riverside got 0.88". Perris had a total of 1.06".

Winds were fierce at times. In South Temecula, gusts reached 48 mph. One report from Morgan Hill in the South Temecula area was 60+ mph.

Moreno Valley also recorded gusts in excess of 40 mph.

Most locations had gusts in the 30's, including Fallbrook (39 mph), Murrieta (37 mph), Lake Elsinore (35 mph) and Wildomar (30 mph).

Stations with lower gusts (Hemet, De Luz, and Riverside) have wind-sheltered locations.

Perris, Fallbrook and Wildomar had trouble with clogged rain gauges during the storm. Water was still dribbling through the gauges in Fallbrook and Perris on Tuesday morning.

Two additional but weaker storms were set to round out the week. After partly cloudy conditions Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday looked wet, followed by another storm Saturday.

The following rainfall totals were recorded: