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HONOLULU ? Hurricane Jimena weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday, missing the Hawaiian Islands but still causing high surf and heavy rain along southern and eastern shores.
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (search) lifted the hurricane watch for Hawaii, the state's biggest and southernmost island.
Still, high surf and a threat of heavy rain put a damper on Labor Day beach plans for residents and tourists along eastern and southern shores of Hawaii, also known as the Big Island.
Beaches remained closed Monday because of rough waves and rip currents. Surf was running 8 to 12 feet high, with 15-foot waves still possible.
At 11 a.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 170 miles south of the island's main city of Hilo (search), or about 140 miles south of the town of Pahala on the south coast.
Maximum sustained wind had slowed to 70 mph, 4 mph less than hurricane strength, down from 80 mph earlier in the morning. The storm was moving west at 17 mph.
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SIG TOO BIG
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