Hurricane Lane is bearing down on Hawaii. This is what it looks like from space.


Hurricane Lane is bearing down on Hawaii, and NASA has captured all of its Category 4 might.
The massive storm has been downgraded from the Category 5 peak it reached Tuesday night, but it still poses huge dangers for the state. Heavy rain and wind could hit the Hawaiian islands as early as Wednesday night, and winds over 74 miles per hour are slated for the Big Island and Maui, CNN says. It all could lead to mudslides, flooding, and eventual coastal erosion, even if the hurricane just graces the islands' edges.
But the potential devastation isn't as obvious from space. In this NASA footage tweeted by CNN, Lane becomes a silent giant overtaking the Pacific.
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Hurricanes are actually rare for the island state, Accuweather points out. The last Category 5 storm to pass within 350 miles of Hawaii was Hurricane John, which came through in 1994. Gov. David Ige (D) has issued a proclamation to prepare emergency aid in advance of Hurricane Lane's approach. Public schools on Hawaii Island and in Maui County are closed until further notice, as those areas are under a hurricane warning.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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