Iselle makes landfall on Hawaii as second hurricane system nears

The National Weather Service says the eye of Tropical Storm Iselle has made landfall on Hawaii's Big Island.

It is the first hurricane or tropical storm to hit the state in 22 years, and another hurricane is following in its path. Hurricane Julio, a Category 3 storm, is about 1,600 kilometres behind in the Pacific.

Iselle's eye swept onto shore about eight kilometres east of Pahala with winds at 96 kilometres an hour at 2:30 a.m. local time.

Iselle was expected to pass overnight across the Big Island, known for coffee fields, volcanoes and black sand beaches, then send rain and high winds to the rest of the state on Friday. The storm's predicted track had it skirting just south of the other islands.

Wind and rain from the system still had enough force to knock down trees, cause power outages and block roads on the Big Island. No deaths or major injuries were reported.