Astronaut photos show Hurricane Florence looking ominous from space

On Wednesday, Hurricane Florence became the first major hurricane of the 2018 season in the Atlantic Ocean. 

On Thursday, astronauts saw the ominous storm swirling from space. 

NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold captured images of Florence as it strengthened on Thursday from his post on the International Space Station.

“#HurricaneFlorence strengthens in the early morning hours over the Atlantic,” Arnold said on Twitter.

In the photos, Florence seems massive, albeit somewhat disorganized since the hurricane’s eye isn’t immediately noticeable and the storm has lost some of it’s symmetry. 

The hurricane — now teetering between Category 2 and Category 3 status — gained some momentum in the Atlantic on Wednesday night, reaching wind speeds above 130 mph, making it a Category 4, if only for a few hours. 

As of right now, not much is known about what the hurricane is going to do next. 

Earlier today, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) released an update, suggesting that Florence has continued to weaken since it reached Category 4 status earlier this morning. 

NASA

According to this update, Hurricane Florence is now a Category 2, with wind speeds reaching 105 mph, which means it is no longer a major hurricane. 

This is likely due to wind shear, or strong opposing winds whipping over that portion of the Atlantic that can tear storms apart. 

However, meteorologists predict that this weakening is only momentary and believe that within the next 36 hours, Florence will regain intensity and again become a major hurricane.

Scientists at the NHC also continue to stress how little we know about where Florence may end up in the coming days. It’s unclear if the storm will impact land at all. 

“Given the large uncertainty at these time ranges, it is far too soon to speculate what, if any, impacts Florence may have on the U.S. East Coast next week,” the NHC said.