Hurricane Lane looms over Hawaii in these astronaut and satellite photos

Astronauts and weather satellites are watching closely as Hurricane Lane, a massive storm, threatens Hawaii.

The hurricane, which is forecast to begin pummeling the islands later today (Aug. 22), has already prompted the governor of Hawaii to declare a state of emergency, and views from space offer a shocking look at just how daunting the storm is. It was briefly a Category 5 storm but has now been downgraded to a Category 4.

The International Space Station passing over Hurricane Lane on Wednesday. (Photo/NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold)

Today, NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold tweeted two photographs showing the view of the storm from the International Space Station and offered best wishes to people in Hawaii.

NASA's Twitter account dedicated to the space station also shared a video showing the huge size of the hurricane. The video includes two different perspectives from the space station, both of which highlight the clear eye of the storm at the heart of the giant knot of clouds.