'Numerous thunderstorms' coming through Ann Arbor as Obama commencement dawns

A light rain started at Elbel Field by 6:10 a.m., where about 200 U-M grads have lined up so far, and a university official used a speaker system to advise people to take shelter under a breakfast tent.

"What you don't want to do is stand near a pole because this storm does have lightning. So stay away from poles," the official told students - though the storm front should only last 30 to 60 minutes.

By 6:30 a.m., it was pouring, and everyone at Elbel Field was gathered under the shelter.

Umbrellas are not allowed in the stadium during commencement.

"But we do have emergency ponchos," U-M psychology professor Mark Sampson, a commencement volunteer, said with a smile.

Asked to offer a whimsical psychological assessment on how rain on commencement day affects a graduate's psyche, he joked, "It starts off telling them that life's not going to be easy, but hang in there, the hard part will be over soon."

Graduates and volunteers were trying to keep their spirits up, even though many were drenched.

"The trash bag worked, except it funneled all the water down my pants," said Jameson Toole, a physics grad, to the laughter of geological sciences grad Erin Lower.

The shaky weather forecast is sure to unnerve officials from the University of Michigan, which is preparing to host President Barack Obama this morning as the keynote speaker at the spring commencement ceremony. The ceremony address is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.

An hour-by-hour forecast at Weather.com indicates that the chance of rain in Ann Arbor is 90 percent at 7 a.m., 100 percent at 8 a.m., 45 percent at 9 a.m., 15 percent at 10 a.m., 40 percent at 11 a.m. and 40 percent at noon. Graduates participating in the ceremony must be lined up at Elbel Field near Michigan Stadium by 9 a.m.

U-M psychology professor Mark Sampson is ready for rain.

Nathan Bomey | AnnArbor.com

The university has said that it rain won't affect the ceremony, but thunder and lightning would force the university to condense or alter the schedule of events. It's also unclear whether the storms could affect the president's itinerary.

The university has no plans to move the commencement ceremony indoors.

"Given the size of spring commencement, it is not logistically feasible to move this ceremony to an indoor location and still maintain its university-wide, inclusive focus," U-M's Web site says.

U-M expects more than 80,000 people to attend the commencement ceremony, which will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Check back with AnnArbor.com this morning for more updates and a live blog starting at 10 a.m.

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.