Heavy rains kept Marion police busy as flooded streets halted traffic on Thursday.

Officers were dispatched to Spring Street at approximately 12:30 p.m. where motorists were stranded in three feet of water.

According to initial emergency broadcasts, the street was “completely impassable” at the time.

North of Spring Street, a slow draining stormwater basin prompted the closing of four lanes of traffic on Route 6.

According to police, the drain was recently cleared and not clogged. The amount of rain, which the National Weather Service estimated to be between three to five inches, was too much for the drain to handle.

Police redirected traffic as the water receded.

The day started with thunderstorms rolling across the South Coast. While the thunder and lighting abated, periods of heavy rain continued on and off until the evening.