Hurricane Irma is headed for the Caribbean, just days after Hurricane Harvey struck Texas killing at least 65.
New videos released by Nasa, shot by one of its weather satellites, show the latest storm approaching the islands before it is expected to head to Florida.
You can see why officials in Antigua closed their warning message with “May God protect us all”.
The eye of a category 5 hurricane. #Irma #GOES16 pic.twitter.com/eATVZspJZx
— NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) September 5, 2017
It’s already the most powerful Atlantic Ocean storm in recorded history, with maximum winds of 185mph.
And over the last few days it was upgraded from a category four to a category five – the most severe.
Even Nasa’s starting to sound nervous.
Hurricane #Irma has been upgraded to category 5 with SUSTAINED winds of 175 MPH. #GOES16 pic.twitter.com/zh3U0YXPoa
— NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) September 5, 2017
This video shows the sun shining into the eye of the hurricane.
Late afternoon sun casting a shadow on Hurricane #Irma's eye. #GOES16 pic.twitter.com/CQaSgHzVN6
— NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) September 5, 2017
Weather satellite GOES-16 also picked up lightning strikes shown in yellow and red, around the storm’s centre.
One can use lightning to track intense updrafts in the eyewall as they rotate around #Irma's center. 1 minute #GOES16 GLM data 1513-1700 UTC pic.twitter.com/x3z3rmHYrS
— NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) September 5, 2017
In this video, you can see Irma approaching the islands of the Caribbean, specifically Barbuda.
The largest island outline to the left is Puerto Rico.
Hurricane #Irma is maintaining it's strength with maximum sustained winds of 185 MPH. The eye is approaching the island of Barbuda. #GOES16 pic.twitter.com/85fHMLVr5H
— NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) September 6, 2017
They also picked up footage of the hurricane passing directly over the islands of Saint Martin and Anguilla.
Saint-Martin and Anguilla appear to have taken a direct hit by cat 5 Hurricane #Irma. #GOES16 pic.twitter.com/1CN1JL0GEC
— NASA SPoRT (@NASA_SPoRT) September 6, 2017
Forget the science, this just looks apocalyptic.