An astronaut revealed scary images of what a hurricane looks like from orbit.
Storm Milton is expected to make landfall on the Florida coast after being upgraded to a category five storm again late tonight.
On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, this indicates that ‘catastrophic destruction will occur’ in the area, with winds of 157 mph or greater. The National Weather Service predicts damage to many homes and power disruptions that will last for weeks to months, rendering the area uninhabitable for the foreseeable future.
The Mayor of Tampa Bay, a community on Florida’s west coast, acknowledged the gravity of the situation during a news conference on Monday (7 October).
Mayor Jane Castor remarked, “This is the real deal here in Milton. If you challenge Mother Nature, she always wins.”
She then threatened, ‘You were going to die’ if they didn’t escape.
It’s expected to be the worst hurricane to hit the region in almost a century, with some tourists stuck in the Sunshine State, foraging for supplies while waiting for the cyclone to arrive.
Some individuals also track the storm’s progression, but they are located 250 miles above us.
Astronauts on the International Space Station have been forced to watch the hurricane form from above in space, as Matthew Dominick, a US Navy test pilot and NASA pilot, shared harrowing footage of the impending natural disaster captured by SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour, which is attached to the ISS.
The film shows the ISS traveling above the massive cyclone at around 17,500 mph, which is the station’s typical speed, allowing it to orbit the Earth every 90 minutes.
The hurricane’s massive white appearance makes it look like something out of a dystopian film as it approaches the mainland, where it is expected to land on the state’s Central Gulf coast tonight (9 October).
However, the astronaut revealed in his post that the film he acquired was a time-lapse: “We captured a time-lapse while flying near Hurricane Milton approximately two hours ago.”
“1/6400 sec. exposure, 14mm, ISO 500, 0.5 sec. interval, 30 fps.”
In the comments section, social media users expressed their reactions to the terrifying clip, with one writing, “This is like something out of The Day After Tomorrow,” referring to the 2004 sci-fi dystopian film.
Another person commented, “From a distance, it looks so calm.”
A third individual responded, “My God… awe-inspiring and frightening at the same time.”