International Space Station captures dramatic footage of Hurricane Ian as it hits Florida
The International Space Station shared a live broadcast from space on Wednesday afternoon as Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph.
Thousands of viewers watched as NASA streamed the planned flyover for just over 15 minutes, sharing the video across its social media accounts. The video slowly pans over the storm, capturing a unique view of Hurricane Ian's eye as it approaches the state.
"The space station flies over #HurricaneIan providing live views of the storm as it makes landfall near Fort Myers, Florida," the ISS tweeted at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, prompting several replies from followers.
"Wow unbelievably peaceful images from space. Yet absolutely devastating for those below. Thinking of everyone affected by this Hurricane," one user replied on Twitter.
"Awesome footage," another added in response to the space station's Facebook post.
Live now on @NASA TV, the space station flies over #HurricaneIan providing live views of the storm as it makes landfall near Fort Myers, Florida. https://t.co/fnW0iJxV9O
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) September 28, 2022
CBS News space consultant William Harwood shared some stunning images from the ISS flyover, calling them "spectacular but frightening shots."
ISS-Ian: Spectacular but frightening shots of Hurricane Ian from the International Space Station today during a pass that began around 3pm EDT (1900 UTC) as the eye of the Category 4 storm was making landfall near Fort Meyers, Florida pic.twitter.com/2zZ9rMDQ5N
— William Harwood (@cbs_spacenews) September 28, 2022
Hours earlier, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shared another perspective of Ian from above. A satellite called GOES-East showed a view of Ian's eye while the hurricane hovered near Sanibel Island.