Hurricane Ana was downgraded to a tropical storm late Sunday afternoon as it began to pull away from the state's more populated islands.
"The good news is it looks like we've dodged a bullet," Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said.
"It was a fortuitous track," said Chris Brenchley, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
A tropical storm watch was canceled Sunday for Oahu, the state's most populous island. But a flash flood warning remained in effect until 8 p.m. as a result of heavy rains. Most areas received 3 to 5 inches as of Sunday afternoon, according to media reports.
And a tropical storm warning for Kauai and Niihau was canceled late Sunday night as Ana moved farther from the main islands. But a hurricane watch was in effect for parts of a few remote northwestern Hawaiian islands, home to a largely uninhabited marine sanctuary.
Ana was 230 miles southwest of Kauai and 305 miles west of Honolulu at 2 a.m. HST Monday and had sustained winds of 70 mph while traveling at west 9 mph. It was expected to trend toward the northwest and gain strength, becoming a hurricane again, the weather service said.
There have been no reports of injuries, deaths or significant damage from the storm. The effects have been limited to heavy rain, large waves and some minor flooding.
Preparations for the storm began last week, with residents stocking up on bottled water, shelters opening and various events being canceled. By Sunday night, the Red Cross announced that all its shelters had closed.
However, officials in some areas asked people to stay home Sunday, 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 from runoff, which attracts sharks.
Kauai officials remained on alert Sunday. Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said some 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 Sunday morning. 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 the Niihau, a privately owned island that's home to fewer than 100 people.
Ana was the second large storm to bear down on Hawaii recently. Tropical Storm Iselle hit the Big Island in August, leaving the rural Puna region with downed trees and power outages.
"We just lucked out this one," Darryl Oliveira, director of Hawaii County Civil Defense, said of the latest storm.
Kauai had 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."
It was good to be prepared, said Susanna Ferris, of Honolulu, as she watched the waves in Waikiki.
"It didn't turn out to be as bad as we thought it would be," she said.
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Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Kailua-Kona and Cathy Bussewitz in Honolulu contributed to this report.
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