Weather and Natural Disasters

This is what one of the strongest hurricanes ever looks like from the International Space Station

Key Points
  • The International Space Station caught footage of Hurricane Irma.
  • The storm is one of the strongest in history.
  • Forecasts for its path later in the week are still uncertain.

This is what one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded looks like from space.

Below is footage taken from the International Space Station as it passed over the storm on Tuesday.

Another video, below, is an animated compilation of images taken by NOAA's GOES East satellite. It shows Irma moving west across the Atlantic, starting Sunday, and hitting the island of St. Martin on Wednesday.

Irma is being pushed to the north by a subtropical ridge. Meteorologists have measured wind speeds at around 185 miles per hour, which makes Irma the strongest hurricane to form in the Atlantic basin outside of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasts of what Irma will do in about 3 days have become more uncertain, according to the National Hurricane Center. American, European and Canadian models are showing that the storm may shift eastward, due to a mid- to upper-level trough over the southeastern United States.

As of Wednesday morning, the NHC's forecast expected Irma to make landfall in Florida in the next 4 to 5 days, the agency said, but the margin of error is still wide, and there is room for change before then.

WATCH:  Hurricane Irma churns through Caribbean islands, possibly en route to Florida

Hurricane Irma churns through Caribbean islands, possibly en route to Florida
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Hurricane Irma churns through Caribbean islands, possibly en route to Florida