 After peaking , Dot slightly weakened , but maintained its Category 4 status for more than two days ; during that time it boasted an unusually large eye spanning as much as 40 mi ( 65 km ) in diameter . Late on August 4 , a fourth reconnaissance flight into the storm found surface winds of 160 mph ( 260 km / h ) , but this reading was discounted on the basis that pressures were unusually high for a storm of that intensity . On August 5 , Dot passed 90 mi ( 145 km ) south of Ka Lae before the storm curved sharply towards the northwest late that day . A more definite weakening phase began after this point , and during the night of August 6 , Dot made landfall on Kauai with winds estimated at 85 mph ( 140 km / h ) , making the storm a Category 1 @-@ equivalent at the time of landfall . After traversing the island , Dot was downgraded to tropical storm intensity and curved back to the west before eventually dissipating on August 8 . 
