By rahit47 on Skatehive
HONOLULU, Hawaii — Hurricane Lane weakened late Thursday to a Category 3 hurricane as it continued its pass by the Hawaiian Islands. Even so, flooding, high winds and landslides remained a major concern. After dumping some two feet of rain on the Big Island, the greatest threat of rain and wind has shifted to the islands of Maui and Oahu through Friday, the National Weather Service said, with winds as high as 120 mph a possibility. The hurricane began to pass to the west of the Big Island of Hawaii, on Thursday and, by 5 p.m. local time, the NWS had downgraded the danger level for the area to a tropical storm warning. Five people, on vacation from Los Angeles, were rescued from a flooded house in Hilo on the east side of the island of Hawaii on Thursday. Two campers who were trapped overnight in the Waipio Valley had to be rescued by helicopter. Early Friday, the storm was still some 215 miles from the island of Oahu, and the state capitol Honolulu, and both Oahu and Maui were still un