An astronaut has shared chilling footage of what a hurricane really looks like from outer space.
Hurricane Milton is set to hit the coast of Florida, US, after it was revealed last night that it has become a category five hurricane once again.
On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, this means that 'catastrophic damage will occur' to the area, with winds reaching 157 mph or higher. Many homes are likely set to be destroyed and power outages are expected to last weeks to months, rendering the area uninhabitable for the near future, according to the National Weather Service.
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The Mayor of Tampa Bay, a city located on the west coast of Florida, addressed the severity of the situation as she spoke during a news conference on Monday (7 October) .
Mayor Jane Castor explained: "This is the real deal here with Milton. If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100 percent of the time."
She then chillingly told residents that if they don't evacuate, 'you are going to die'.
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It's set to be the worst storm to hit the region in over a century, as some holidaymakers have been trapped in the Sunshine State, scavenging for essentials while waiting for the cyclone to hit.
There are some people who are also observing the storm take shape, except they're 250 miles above our heads.
Astronauts within 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 pilot for NASA - shared harrowing footage of the impending natural disaster captured from SpaceX's Dragon Endeavour, which is attached to the ISS.
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The footage shows the ISS passing over the colossal hurricane at around 17,500mph, the station's average speed, which allows it to orbit the Earth once every 90 minutes.
The hurricane's huge white appearance makes it look like something out of a dystopian film, as it makes its way towards the main land, slated for landfall on the state's Central Gulf coast tonight (9 October).
The footage captured was a time lapse though, as the astronaut wrote in his post: "Timelapse flying by Hurricane Milton about 2 hours ago.
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"1/6400 sec exposure, 14mm, ISO 500, 0.5 sec interval, 30fps."
Social media users shared what they thought of the chilling footage in the comments, as one wrote: "This is like something out of The Day After Tomorrow," referencing the 2004 sci-fi dystopian flick.
Another pointed out: "Looks so calm from a distance."
A third said: "My God.. awe inspiring and frightening at the same time."
Topics: Science, Space, US News, Weather, Hurricane Milton
Joshua Nair