WASHINGTON, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Tropical storm Erick in the Pacific is expected to grow into a hurricane soon as it races westward toward Hawaii, a public advisory said monday.

Erick was about 1,205 miles (1,945 km) east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii and it had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph), according to the advisory released by the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Moving toward the west-northwest at the speed of near 16 mph (26 kph), Erick could become a major hurricane on Tuesday, the advisory said.

But a weakening trend is forecasted to begin later in the week and Erick would gradually weaken back into a tropical storm before making its closest approach to Hawaii.