Superstorm Milton seen from satellite, unprecedented number of lightning strikes

Satellite imagery provides additional views of Hurricane Milton from space as the storm approaches Florida.

NOAA's GOES East satellite provides new images of Minton's clouds every 30 seconds. The GOES satellites — short for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites — are NOAA's most sophisticated satellites. The agency posted a clip of the images on X on Sept. 9.

The satellite is orbiting the Earth's equator , "at a speed equal to the Earth's rotation ," allowing the satellite to fly over specific locations, NOAA said.

Heavy rain, strong winds and a violent tornado are brewing in Florida. According to meteorologists, Milton is being warned to be a much stronger storm, with wind gusts of over 200 mph and an unprecedented number of "lightning strikes."

Lightning appeared continuously during Storm Milton.

More than 1 million people in the state of Florida have been asked to evacuate to avoid risks before superstorm Milton makes landfall in the US.

More than 1,500 flights to and from Florida scheduled for October 9 were canceled. Tampa International Airport was closed on October 8, while Orlando International Airport said it would cease operations on the morning of October 9.