(Bloomberg) — Hawaii escaped its first hurricane strike in 22years as Iselle was downgraded to a tropical storm just beforemaking landfall at the Big Island.

The center of Iselle went ashore about five miles (8 kilometers)east of Pahala, Hawaii, with top winds of 60 miles per hour, at2:30 a.m. local time, the National Weather Service said. Iselle,traveling west, was previously a Category 1 hurricane on thefive-step Saffir-Simpson scale.

The system, which grounded flights, shut tourist areas andclosed government offices, would have been the first hurricane onrecord to strike the Big Island, according to Commodity WeatherGroup LLC. Hurricane Iniki was the last hurricane to hit the state,landing as a Category 4 storm in September 1992, killing six andcausing $2 billion in damage, Jeff Masters, founder of WeatherUnderground, wrote in his blog.

“Now that the storm is interacting with the island it isweakening and is down to tropical storm strength,” David Streit, ameteorologist at CWG in Bethesda, Maryland, said today by e-mail.The “main impact will still be localized flooding and minor winddamage.”

Hawaiians are also watching Hurricane Julio, behind Iselle.Julio had top winds of 120 mph as of 11 p.m. local time and wastraveling west-northwest, according to the Central PacificHurricane Center center. It was 970 miles east of Hilo. Julio willprobably pass north of Hawaii on Aug. 10 or Aug. 11, according toDonald Keeney, a forecaster at MDA Weather Services inGaithersburg, Maryland.

Iselle will dump 2 inches (5 centimeters) to as much as 20inches of rain, Keeney said today by e-mail. Hawaii closed allgovernment offices and schools today, Governor Neil Abercrombiesaid on his website.

Fees Waived

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s stormpreparations included shutting off gas lines to outdoor tikitorches and moving food and beverage service indoors, StephanieDowling, a spokeswoman for the company, said by e-mail. It alsowaived cancellation fees for guests whose travel plans are affectedby the storms.

Island Air scrubbed all flights today and intends to return toits regular schedule tomorrow, the airline said on its website. Itis owned by Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison's Ohana AirlineHoldings LLC.

Hawaiian Airlines Inc. moved up a Maui-Los Angeles flight byalmost 5 hours yesterday and canceled evening flights in Hilo, Konaand Maui, the company said in an e-mailed statement.

The storms are striking during one of Hawaii's peak tourismseasons, from June through August, when schools are shut forvacation, Ken Rewick, vice president of flight operations forHawaiian Airlines, said Aug. 6 by phone from Honolulu. A shorterspike in visitors occurs in December and January, he said.

Taking Precautions

The U.S. National Park Service close its Hawai'i Volcanoesvisitor center and museum yesterday. Backcountry areas and roads inthe area were also shut in the park that receives about 1.6 milliontourists per year. The state's Division of Forestry and Wildlifeclosed its hiking trails, wildlife sanctuaries and reserves on theBig Island and Maui.

A tropical storm warning was issued for Maui County includingthe islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe, according to thelocal National Weather Service office. The warning was also issuedfor Oahu and the Kauai County including the islands of Kauau andNiihau. A hurricane warning was in effect for the Hawaii County,the service said on its website.

Storm Outlook

“Swells generated by Iselle is producing very large and damagingmainly along east and south facing shores of the Big Island,”according to the service. “This damaging surf will continue intoFriday.”

Julio may drift north and miss the islands over the weekend,hurricane center track forecasts show. Computer models show itcurving to the north and losing strength as it nears the islandchain, said Paul Walker, a meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc. inState College, Pennsylvania.

Hurricane Julio “should still spread some heavier rains acrossmuch of the state,” MDA's Keeney said. “However, there should notbe any major damage to the state from that system.”

It is rare for two storms to threaten Hawaii so closetogether.

Storms tend to “come in clusters, but this close is nottypical,” Rewick, said. “Julio seems to be taking a more northerlytrack, which for the islands is helpful because it gets up into thehigher, cooler water and saps the energy out of them.”

Hurricane History

Only two hurricanes, tropical systems with winds of at least 74mph, have made direct strikes on the state since 1949, Masterssaid. One of those was Hurricane Iniki and the other was Dot in1959. Both made landfall in Kauai. No tropical storm has hit theBig Island since 1958, and it's had no hurricane strike on record,he said.

Near Japan, Typhoon Halong, a Category 1 storm with winds of 86mph, was moving north 350 miles south-southeast of Sasebo, Japan,the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.

“It's already bringing heavy rains to Japan and it's moving veryslowly, so they are going to get a long period of heavy rainsthrough Saturday,” Masters said in a telephone interview. “Therecould be significant flooding damage in southern Japan.”

–With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima in Tokyo.

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