NASA astronaut captures terrifying scale of Hurricane Dorian in images from space

MIAMI - As the East Coast of the United States braces for Hurricane Dorian, NASA engineer and astronaut Christina Koch, who is observing the storm from aboard the International Space Station, tweeted terrifying and awe-inspiring photographs of the hurricane seen from space.

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"#HurricaneDorian as seen from @Space_Station earlier today. Hoping everyone in its path stays safe,“ tweeted Koch.

Koch tweeted out four pictures capturing the horrifying scale of Dorian as it looms near the southeast coast of Florida.

NASA also captured jaw-dropping footage of Dorian from the International Space Station on Thursday when the storm was hovering over the Atlantic Ocean just north of Puerto Rico, posting the video to Youtube.

While the storm might seem surreal from space, it has left nothing but devastation for residents in the Bahamas where Dorian made landfall on Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC), said Dorian lashed through the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185 mph.

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As Dorian slowly approached Florida, weakening to a Category 4 hurricane, the NHC said that the storm currently remains “nearly stationary with the two most recent aircraft fixes showing essentially no motion.”

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But the National Hurricane Center warned that motion will resume Monday overnight into early Tuesday and said those in its path should expect “life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds.”

NASA engineer and astronaut Christina Koch tweeted photos of Hurricane Dorian from aboard the International Space Station. (NASA)