A flood advisory was issued for East Lansing by the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids until 5 p.m. Thursday. Parts of Grand River Avenue in East Lansing were submerged at about 2 p.m.
About three inches of rain has fallen since midnight Thursday, resulting in minor flooding across mid-Michigan and on campus, said Brandon Hoving, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids.
Although many students might have awakened to early morning thunderstorms, the bulk of the rain came from this afternoon’s storms, he said.
A flood advisory is in effect until 5 p.m. for Ingham county, including the city of East Lansing.
On campus, people can expect minor flooding on roadways and sidewalks, which might cause an inconvenience going to class or leaving for the afternoon, said Gerry Dobbs, MSU Landscape Services ground maintenance manager.
University officials will monitor the campus should additional flooding occur, he said.
“This is an entire Physical Plant effort after periods of heavy rain,” Dobbs said. “We work with building custodians to make sure water does not enter buildings (and) when the side walks are flooded, we might put up a barricade to make sure people do not try to walk across those areas.”
East Lansing’s afternoon storms prompted a severe thunderstorm watch that is in effect until 7 p.m. across eastern lower Michigan.
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