23 Incredible Hurricane Images From Space

Hurricane Sandy

This satellite image of the monster storm was captured on Oct. 27, 2012.

Hurricane Felix

Hurricane Felix was a massive, Category 5 storm with 165 mph winds when a crew member aboard the International Space Station took this photo. It was Sept. 3, 2007. The next day, Felix slammed into Central America's Mosquito Coast, destroying homes and threatening lives. The storm was eventually blamed for 133 deaths, including 130 in Nicaragua.

Click through to see more hurricanes from space.

Hurricane Earl

Hurricane Earl was hovering over northeast Puerto Rico on Aug. 30, 2010, when NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock took this photo from the International Space Station. At the time, Earl was a Category 4 storm with an eye 17 miles wide. 

"Hurricane Earl is gathering some serious strength," Wheelock wrote at the time. "It is incredible what a difference a day makes when you're dealing with this force of nature. Please keep a watchful eye on this one ... not sure if Earl will go quietly into the night like [Hurricane] Danielle."

Hurricane Earl

A crew member aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis took this photo of Hurricane Gordon on Sept. 17, 2006. Gordon carved a meandering and destructive path from Central America through the Caribbean and across the Florida panhandle. The storm killed an estimated 1,122 people in Haiti.

Hurricane Sandy

This satellite image shows Sandy on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012, after the storm had left nearly five dozen people dead in the Caribbean.

Hurricane Earl

A window on the International Space Station frames this striking image of Hurricane Ophelia. A crew member took the photo on Sept. 11, 2005. The storm spun its way up the U.S. East Coast and was blamed for several deaths.

Hurricane Irene 

Hurricane Irene's winds were gusting to 120 mph on Aug. 26, 2011, when this photo was taken from the International Space Station. The Bahamas are visible in the lower left section of the photo. The panel visible in the upper center of the image is attached to the the space station.

Hurricane Emily

Call this photo "Moon Over Emily." Hurricane Emily was spinning off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on July 17, 2005, when the shot was taken. Tens of thousands of tourists were evacuated from Mexico's beach resorts as the storm neared. In the end, Hurricane Emily killed 17 people and caused more than $1 billion in damage.

Hurricane Wilma

This photo captures Hurricane Wilma's giant eye on a day when the storm had winds reaching 175 mph. Wilma was the strongest hurricane in Atlantic hurricane history. On Oct. 19, 2005, when this image was captured from the International Space Station, Wilma was churning in the Caribbean about 340 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. The storm was ultimately blamed for at least 62 deaths in the Caribbean and United States.

Hurricane Wilma

This photo captures Hurricane Wilma's giant eye on a day when the storm had winds reaching 175 mph. Wilma was the strongest hurricane in Atlantic hurricane history. On Oct. 19, 2005, when this image was captured from the International Space Station, Wilma was churning in the Caribbean about 340 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. The storm was ultimately blamed for at least 62 deaths in the Caribbean and United States.

Hurricane Bertha

Hurricane Bertha was swirling in the central Atlantic with 85 mph winds on July 9, 1996, when this photo was taken from the International Space Station. 

Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike was covering more than half of Cuba in early September 2008 when this photo was taken from the International Space Station. The storm caused nearly 200 deaths, including 112 in the U.S. and 74 in Haiti.

Hurricane Earl

This photo captures Hurricane Earl as well as part of a Russian Soyuz vehicle that was docked to the International Space Station. Earl was a Category 4 storm just north of the Virgin Islands when the image was taken. The eye of the storm can be seen on the left side of the photo.

Hurricane Irene

On Aug. 23, 2011, when this photo was taken, Hurricane Irene was spinning near the northern Bahamas with winds pushing 120 mph.

Hurricane Ike

This image, taken Sept. 4, 2008, from the International Space Station, captures Hurricane Ike as a Category 4 storm with winds gusting to 145 mph.

Hurricane Gordon

This topsy-turvy photo of Hurricane Gordon was taken from the Space Shuttle Atlantis. 

Hurricane Dean

An astronaut aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour took this extraordinary photo of Hurricane Dean's swirling eye. It was Aug. 18, 2007, and the Category 4 storm was churning just south of Jamaica with winds as high as 150 mph. Before fizzling out, Dean caused at least 45 deaths across roughly 10 countries.

Hurricane Katrina

NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 28, 2005. At the time, Katrina was a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds. Air pressure at the center of the storm measured 902 millibars, the fourth lowest on record for an Atlantic storm. Katrina covers much of the Gulf of Mexico here, from the U.S. coast to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Hurricane Emilia

Hurricane Emilia was swirling hundreds of miles off the southern tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula, far out in the Pacific, when this photo was taken by NASA's Terra satellite in early July 2012. The storm never posed a threat to land. 

Hurricane Hernan

Look closely and you can see Mexico's Baja Peninsula in the center of this image, jutting down toward Hurricane Hernan. NASA's Terra satellite captured this image on Sept. 1, 2002, when Hernan was a powerful, Category 5 storm. The hurricane soon moved out to sea and weakened. 

Hurricane Paloma

At first glance, this looks like a typical image of Earth. But look closely and you can see a hurricane with a well-defined eye swirling near the Caribbean. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite captured the image on Nov. 7, 2008, when Hurricane Paloma was a Category 2 storm. Shortly after the image was taken, Paloma churned into the Cayman Islands and then Cuba, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and one death.

Hurricane Celia

Hurricane Celia was spinning in the Pacific with 135 mph winds in June 2010 when NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image.