Astronauts, Satellites Track Dangerous Hurricane Harvey from Space (Video, Photos)

[Judi Lynn]

By Hanneke Weitering, Space.com Staff Writer | August 25, 2017 03:34pm ET

As the coast of Texas prepares to be pummeled by the fast-approaching Hurricane Harvey, NASA satellites and astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are keeping an eye on the potentially life-threatening storm.

Yesterday (Aug. 24), the National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded Harvey from a tropical storm to a hurricane as weather satellites observed the storm gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico. Harvey is projected to make landfall over Corpus Christi, Texas, by midnight tonight (Aug. 25) and could linger over Texas and Louisiana for up to five days. The huge amounts of rainfall brought by the hurricane are expected to cause "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding" in parts of Texas and Louisiana, the NHC said in a public advisory.

NASA released new video yesterday of Hurricane Harvey swirling over the gulf as seen from the ISS, which orbits about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth's surface. ISS crewmembers also shared their own photos of Harvey. [Hurricane Harvey: Photos of the Massive Storm from Space]

"God bless Texas, may you weather the storm as you always have," NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik tweeted on Thursday.

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