​Hurricane Fred forms in the Atlantic

MIAMI - Fred has strengthened to a hurricane as it approaches the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Fred's maximum sustained winds Monday morning are near 80 mph. Gradual weakening is forecast to begin Tuesday.

Hurricane Fred is centered about 40 miles west of Rabil in the Cape Verde Islands and is moving northwest near 12 mph. A hurricane warning is in effect for the islands. It is still far too early to predict whether or not the storm will reach the mainland U.S.

Meanwhile in the Pacific, the National Weather Service discontinued its tropical storm watch for the Hawaii Sunday evening, with reports saying Hurricane Ignacio's tropical storm force winds were no longer expected to reach the islands. Residents are calmly awaiting Ignacio as the Category 3 hurricane comes closer to the Big Island and Maui, but are treating the storm like business-as-usual.

Further east, the powerful Hurricane Jimena is moving quickly over open water. The Category 4 storm has maximum sustained winds near 150 mph.

Jimena is centered about 1,430 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii, and is moving west-northwest near 17 mph. The hurricane doesn't currently pose a threat to land.