HILO, Hawaii – Hone continues to weaken and was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday after it blasted Hawaii’s Big Island as a Category 1 hurricane with flooding rain, damaging winds and dangerous waves over the weekend.The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) in Honolulu said the storm made its closest approach to the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday morning, passing about 45 miles south-southwest of South Point, Hawaii. Peak winds were estimated to be about 85 mph.Hone is now weakening as it pulls away from Hawaii, and the Tropical Storm Warning previously posted for the Big Island has been discontinued. However, Flood Watches and High Surf Advisories will remain in effect as the tropical storm continues its journey away from the islands.HONE TRACKER: FORECAST CONE, HURRICANE PATH, SATELLITE IMAGERY, SPAGHETTI MODELS AND MOREThe heavy precipitation associated with Hone had a major impact on Hawaii’s Big Island. Many areas picked up more than 2 feet of rain, sending water rushing down the steep slopes of the mountainous terrain and into low-lying neighborhoods. Because the ground was extremely saturated, there were also concerns about mudslides and landslides.More than 27 inches of rain fell across Hakalau, with Piihonua and Kanakaleonui both picking up more than 2 feet of rain.Flash Flood Warnings were issued through Sunday as heavy rain lashed the area, and forecasters estimated rainfall rates of 2 inches per hour.That heavy rain led to numerous reports of flash flooding, with photos and videos showing rivers and streams raging over their banks and rushing over streets and roads in the area.SEE IT: HURRICANE HONE BARRELS BY HAWAII BRINGING ANGRY WAVES, FLOODINGOne video showed the raging water rushing over access roads in Pahala, Hawaii. Police there said water had overtopped at least three sections of Hawaii Belt Road (Route 11), which circles the Big Island.Trees were also brought down due to the heavy rain and strong winds. As Hone raged to the south, it knocked out power to thousands of utility customers.Early Monday morning, PowerOutage.us showed more than 16,500 outage reports on the Big Island. The number of outages continued to drop throughout Monday as crews worked to restore power, and only a few thousand outages remained by Monday afternoon.Shelters had been opened across Hawaii’s Big Island. Both Hawaii County Mayor Mitchell D. Roth and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green declared states of emergency ahead of the storm’s impacts, urging residents to prepare for it.HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHERTravel has also been impacted due to the numerous road closures, and passengers hoping to catch a flight out of airports such as Hilo International Airport were asked to check with their airlines before heading to the airport to ensure flights aren’t canceled or delayed.DOWNLOAD THE FREE FOX WEATHER APPAccording to the latest information from the CPHC, Hone was located nearly 300 miles west-southwest of Honolulu and was moving west at 13 mph. The CPHC said that the motion is expected to continue for the next few days.DOWNLOAD THE FREE FOX WEATHER APPHone has winds of 65 mph with some higher gusts, and the storm is expected to continue to gradually weaken over the next few days.