Stunning, Ominous Images of Hurricane Florence, Taken From Space

Hurricane Florence is bearing down on the U.S. East Coast and weather satellites are monitoring its strength and speed. And the images they are capturing of the massive storm are both mesmerizing and chilling.

A satellite image just released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Florence is still far away from the eastern seaboard but the National Hurricane Center says the storm is on track to hit the area around North and South Carolina by Friday. Forecasters warned the storm could be “life threatening” by the time it does strike.

Here’s a mesmerizing loop of Hurricane #Florence, seen from #GOESEast today. Florence has weakened to a Cat. 1 hurricane thanks to strong wind shear, but is expected to strengthen again as it heads toward the western Atlantic. Latest: https://t.co/LdMJC4oIds pic.twitter.com/fKigmY9Qfx

— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) September 6, 2018

I watched the International Space Station fly over Hurricane Florence and… it made me feel things. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/POmXS3pUlm

— Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) September 10, 2018

The NOAA also released a “mesmerizing loop” that shows Hurricane Florence from space. In the past day, the storm did weaken to Category 1 strength, but forecasters expect it to strengthen to at least a Category 3 by the time it makes landfall on the U.S. mainland, reports Time.