HONOLULU — Hawaii residents started to relax Sunday afternoon after days of keeping a cautious eye on Hurricane Ana, which for several days had been churning dangerously close by.
National Weather Service forecasters are now predicting the storm will pass by the island chain without doing much damage.
“The good news is, it looks like we’ve dodged a bullet yet again,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said.
A tropical storm watch was canceled Sunday for Oahu, the state’s most populous island. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Kauai and Niihau, and a hurricane watch has been issued for parts of a few remote northwestern islands, which are home to a largely uninhabited marine sanctuary.
Forecasters said they expect the storm will pass about 70 miles south of Niihau.
There have been no reports of injuries, deaths or significant damage from the storm, which was upgraded to a hurricane as it neared Hawaii late last week. The effects have been limited to heavy rain, large waves and some minor flooding.
State officials, however, asked people to stay home, avoid rain-soaked roads and keep out of the ocean.
“The ocean is angry today,” Honolulu Ocean Safety Chief Jim Howe said, noting that there was plenty of brown water, which attracts sharks, near popular beaches.
Kauai officials remained on alert with the storm warning and flash flood watch in effect. Kauai County Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said a few beaches had been closed due to rain and high surf, but the day was otherwise typical.
A few hundred people on the island experienced power outages, but many had their service restored by early afternoon.
Hawaiian Airlines canceled some morning Kauai flights, leaving about two dozen travelers to wait for an afternoon trip.
There were no reports of problems on Niihau, a privately owned island that’s home to fewer than 100 people.
Hurricane Ana was the second large storm to bear down on Hawaii recently. Tropical Storm Iselle hit the Big Island in August, cutting off the Puna region from the rest of Hawaii Island.
Kauai braced for the worst, after forecasters said the storm was coming closer than had been predicted. Many there remember the destruction of Hurricane Iniki, which killed six people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes in 1992. Kevin Adkisson, however, wasn’t on Kauai for that storm and had mixed feelings Sunday.
“It’s kind of a nonevent so far,” he said. “I was kind of looking forward to my first hurricane, but I’m glad it didn’t tear anything up or hurt anybody.”
Road crews in Kau, a coffee-growing region on the Big Island, reopened Mamalahoa Highway, which had been shut down, leaving the area isolated.
“We just lucked out this one,” Darryl Oliveira, director of Hawaii County Civil Defense, said.
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