...Nor any drop to drink.

What was left of Hurricane Frances arrived in Buffalo starting late yesterday, and those tattered wisps of what was once a powerhouse hurricane still managed to dump several inches of rain here in less than twelve hours, causing flooding in many locales around the Niagara Frontier. Where we live, we were generally spared, since Buffalo generally sits at the bottom of a basin that slopes upward as you travel south from the city, and we live in one of the Southtowns, ergo placing us on "higher ground". Many folks are not so lucky, though: there were actually a number of schools closed locally due to flooding. School closures...on the second day of the school year. Ye Gods.

(Incidentally, major props to Buffalo's local NBC affiliate, Channel 2, WGRZ. Their in-studio staff was all over it this morning, running constant tickers with the latest school closings and whatnot. But the Channel 2 web staff was not so attentive. Despite the repeated references by the anchors and on-air reporters to the "School Closing Central" section of WGRZ.com, the actual school closing information was never updated on the Web site as late as 8:30 a.m. I mean, the channel is running tickers saying "Such-and-Such School closed today", but the Web site reported, "All schools are reported open". That's a crack web team there, folks. Yes, I sent them a caustic e-mail on the subject, pointing out that I was able to find the correct school closing information on the Web site of one of their competitors. That should open some eyes, seeing as how every TV station here is in a constant competition to see who "told you first".)