Tropical Storm Flossie chugs toward Hawaii

Parts of Hawaii were under a tropical storm watch Sunday as Flossie chugged across the Pacific Ocean toward the U.S. islands, forecasters said. At 5 p.m. Hawaiian time, Flossie was still about 775 miles away, producing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour with higher gusts, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu said. The storm was heading to the west at 20 mph, prompting forecasters to issue a storm watch for the big island of Hawaii and Maui county. A watch means the tropical storm could hit within 48 hours. The storm could weaken somewhat during that time period, the forecasters said. Hawaii and Maui could begin to be pelted with heavy rain and tropical storm force winds as soon as Monday morning. The islands will begin to experience large surf as early as Sunday afternoon.