By Julie Pace

3:30 p.m., Lake Okeechobee
We found Ernesto.

He’s hanging out over the big lake, dumping a fairly sizeable amount of rain, but nothing more than an average summer thunderstorm in Florida. There is a pitch black cloud hanging over the lake, though, and we’ve determined that must be Ernesto himself.

A small group of storm watchers have gathered at the base of the lake to watch Ernesto blow through. Most have been through worse than this before, like 24-year-old Jennifer Buettner. She and a friend are spending the afternoon fishing off a covered pier and watching the rain.

Buettner’s home still has a hole in the roof from Hurricanes Francis and Jeanne. The hole was made worse last year when the remnants of Wilma blew thorugh.

As for Ernesto, Buettner is unimpressed.

“It’s been overblown,” she says.