The U.S. Weather Service says winds as high as 97 kilometers an hour will begin to affect the big island of Hawaii late Sunday evening. The weather service also warned of high surf and up to 25 centimeters of rain.

While no evacuations have yet been ordered local authorities are calling for the cancellation of all ocean and beach activities at the popular tourist destination.

Meanwhile what is predicted to be an especially strong hurricane season in the Atlantic is picking up as the season's third major storm continues to gather strength.

Hurricane Fabian is churning north and westward across the Atlantic Ocean. As a category three hurricane it is sustaining winds of 201 kilometers per hour and is expected to pick up enough strength to boost it to a category four storm.

On its present course Fabian is not a threat to any land area and is expected to pass well to north of the Lesser Antilles islands in the southeastern Caribbean.

U.S. government forecasters have predicted six to nine hurricanes in the 2003 season which runs from June until the end of November.

Tropical storm Grace hit the Texas central coast Sunday morning and was down graded to a tropical depression. Still, the slowing storm is bringing heavy rains to areas in eastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana, where flooding is a major concern.