The Hawaiian islands are battening down the hatches as they prepare for Hurricane Lane, a powerful, Category 4 storm barreling toward the state at 155 mph.
And now, photos taken from space show the extreme power of that storm as it makes its way toward possible landfall.
NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold highlighted Hurricane Lane’s size with photos tweeted from his post on the International Space Station.
“#HurricaneLane in the early morning hours near Hawaii,” Arnold said in the tweet. “The crew of the [Space Station] sends much aloha to everyone there.”
In the images from space you can see the hurricane’s cotton-like tendrils sprawl from the center in a way that looks peaceful — but don’t be fooled.
The clouds are whipping up dangerous amounts of rain and wind.
The hurricane also seems to cover the horizon as seen from the station’s windows.
Even the video from space station is deceivingly calm.
Hawaii’s governor David Ige has been constantly updating his constituents via social media with new reports from the weather organizations keeping tabs on Hurricane Lane’s path.
“Hawaii is in danger of being significantly impacted by Hurricane Lane, whether or not the hurricane directly hits the state,” Ige said in a statement on Facebook.
Meteorologists have estimated that some regions of Hawaii could see up to two feet of rain — while warning residents to take the potential threat seriously.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service in Honolulu is sharing updates on Hurricane Lane’s track as the storm approaches the island.
The next 24 hours will determine whether or not Hawaii has to face the full force of the massive storm, until then the only thing to do is prepare and wait.
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