HONOLULU — Hone passed south of Hawaii and weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Sunday, dumping so much rain that the National Weather Service called off its red flag warnings that strong winds could lead to wildfires on the drier sides of the islands. Meanwhile, the eastern Pacific saw a new threat emerge as Tropical Storm Hector formed, packing top sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph). There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect as Hector churned far out at sea, the National Hurricane Center said.
Hone (pronounced hoe-NEH) had top winds of 70 mph (110 kph) Sunday night as it swirled slowly past Hawaii about 180 miles (290 kilometers) southwest of Honolulu and 185 miles (300 kilometers) south of Lihue, according to an 11 p.m. advisory from the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.
Jon Jelsema, a senior forecaster at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, said earlier Sunday that tropical storm force winds were blowing across the island’s southeast-facing slopes, carrying up to a foot (30 centimeters) or more of rain. Floods closed Highway 11 between Kona and Hilo, and a higher-altitude alternative, the Cane Road, was closed by flooding as well, isolating properties like the Aikane Plantation Coffee Co. outside Pahala, where owner Phil Becker said his 10-inch (25-centimeter) rain gauge overflowed in the deluge.
“We’ve got quite a lot of flood damage, the gulches are running full speed ahead and they’re overflowing the bridges, so we’re trapped down he.