Iselle is downgraded to a tropical storm as it hits Hawaii


Hurricane Iselle was downgraded to tropical storm status early Friday as it hit Hawaii's Big Island with heavy rains, high surf, and maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour. Iselle was the first tropical system to hit Hawaii since Hurricane Iniki, a devastating Category 4 storm, in 1992. To the east, Hurricane Julio gained strength, with top sustained winds of 120 mph. It was expected to pass slightly north of Hawaii by late Monday. --Harold Maass
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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