Posted May 17, 2009, 7:40 PM.

Menifee led the way on Sunday, with a high temperature of 101.6°F. Lake Elsinore was just behind at 100.4°F.

Next hottest were San Jacinto (99.1°F) and Hemet (98.2°F).

Hemet had joined Lake Elsinore and Menifee above 100°F on Saturday.

Parts of Hemet, San Jacinto, Lake Elsinore and Menifee lie along the Elsinore convergence zone, which often leads to the hottest temperatures in the inland valleys in the summer. May heat is not unusual in those communities.

Maximum temperatures in the rest of the inland valleys Sunday were not as hot, although they were about ten degrees above normal.

To the north, Riverside was just 91.3°F. Moreno Valley (97.1°F) and Perris (95.6°F) were warmer.

To the south, Murrieta recorded 93.4°F and Temecula topped out at 92.0°F. Wildomar charted 95.4°F.

It wasn't so warm everywhere. In San Diego County, Fallbrook was coolest with a high temperature 77.3°F, right at its seasonal norm. The De Luz station, to the north of Fallbrook and west of Temecula, just inside Riverside County, had a peak temperature of 81.2°F.

Monday was expected to be three to six degrees cooler in most of the inland communities. Ten degrees or more of cooling was predicted by Thursday, and below average temperatures were projected for Memorial Day weekend.