Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, state adjutant general, said he stands by his recommendation yesterday that public schools be closed and state workers stay home today.

Lee said though gusts upwards of 60 mph never materialized, he would make the same decision over again if given the same weather information.

"Given the same factors, that would be the prudent thing to do," Lee said.

The highest recorded gusts on O'ahu overnight and today hit about 49 mph. There were no major reports of damage from the storm, and no massive power outages.

Lee said he made the recommendation to close schools and cancel work for state workers after a 3 p.m. weather update yesterday from the National Weather Service, when forecasters warned officials that gusts could reach 60 mph to 65 mph in some spots.

"With gusts up to 65 mph, that's just 10 mph below the lowest hurricane level," said Lee, in a news conference today with reporters.

He said shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday, he spoke to public schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto, recommending that schools be closed today. He also spoke to Gov. Linda Lingle, recommending that nonessential state workers get the day off.

"At that time it was forcecast the bulk of the storm was going to hit about 5 a.m, right during the period where you'd have the commuting traffic," Lee said.

He added that he understands why people were upset about the schools closure, which left many parents scrambling for childcare. But he said, "If we don't close the school and take other action, we get criticized the other way."