Islands Hit by More Than 2 Feet of Rain

More than 2 feet of rain fell in a 24-hour period as a band of thunderstorms cross the island chain from the south, but the deluge subsided Thursday afternoon. As of 7 a.m. Thursday, 26.22 inches of rain had fallen at Hilo Airport, breaking the previous 24-hour record of 22.3 inches in 1979, according to the weather service. The National Weather Service canceled all flash-flood warnings after the downpour overflowed streams and gullies, flooding roadways throughout the downtown area and cutting off several neighborhoods along the east side of Hawaii Island.