Is this footage of Hurricane Milton from space? No, it's actually from 2018

What is the claim?

A short video posted by a user on Threads claiming to show "incredible footage of Hurricane Milton seen from Space" has gone viral, accumulating approximately 258,000 views and over 900 reshares. The video features two clips depicting the formation of the eye of a hurricane, seemingly captured from space. An archived version of the post can be viewed here.

Screenshot of the viral Threads post. (Source: Screenshot/Threads/Modified by Logically Facts)

Hurricane Milton, which originated as a tropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico, rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm before making landfall as a Category 3 storm on October 9, 2024. It struck Siesta Key, Florida, causing widespread devastation. The hurricane resulted in at least 24 fatalities, displaced thousands, and caused significant power outages, leaving millions without electricity.

However, the video's visuals are old and actually depict Hurricane Florence, which struck North Carolina in 2018.

What did we find?

Our investigation revealed that both clips in the viral video show visuals of Hurricane Florence captured from space. Hurricane Florence impacted the Carolinas in September 2018, resulting in approximately 50 deaths.

The first clip

A reverse image search using keyframes from the first clip led us to a report by The Washington Post dated September 12, 2018, titled "Hurricane Florence looks like a nightmarish monstrosity — ‘even from space.’"

This report included an X (formerly Twitter) post (archived here) from NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold, which featured two images taken from the International Space Station, one resembling the viral clip. The visual in the clip appears to be an animated version of this original, uncropped image. Arnold captioned it: “#HurricaneFlorence this morning with Cape Hatteras #NorthCarolina in the foreground. The crew of @Space_Station is thinking of those who will be affected.”

Screenshot of the X post by NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold that included the viral image seen in the first clip. (Source: Screenshot/X/Ricky Arnold)

The ISS National Laboratory, a U.S. government-funded facility, also shared an X post (archived here) by Arnold featuring similar images of Hurricane Florence, confirming that he captured them. Additionally, another X post (archived here) from the International Space Station displayed the viral visual from the first clip.

Screenshot of the X post by the International Space Station that included the viral image seen in the first clip. (Source: Screenshot/X/International Space Station )

The second clip

The second clip in the viral video appears to be an animated version of an image shared in another X post (archived here) by European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst, included in the same Washington Post report. Gerst's post featured two close-up images of the hurricane's eye, in addition to the image resembling the viral visual.

Screenshot of the X post by ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst that included the viral image seen in the second clip. (Source: Screenshot/X/Alexander Gerst)

The Flickr link in Gerst's post led to high-resolution versions of the images he uploaded to the photo-hosting website.

The viral photo was also published on the NASA Earth Observatory website, noting that “astronaut Alex Gerst shot this photograph (above) of Florence’s eye as viewed from the International Space Station.”

A screenshot from the NASA Earth Observatory website showing the viral image seen in the second clip. (Source: Screenshot/NASA Earth Observatory)

Hurricane Milton as seen from space

NASA recently published an image of Hurricane Milton captured from space, crediting NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick. This image was taken through the ‘window of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour where Dominick is waiting to undock and return to Earth.’ He also posted various (archived here and here) other visuals of Hurricane Milton on his X account.

The verdict

Old visuals captured during Hurricane Florence in 2018 have been misrepresented as footage of Hurricane Milton captured from space.