The extremely dangerous storm is predicted to bring days of rain to southeast Texas starting on Aug. 25. (NASA/YouTube)

A brief-but-haunting video released by NASA on Thursday night shows Hurricane Harveys powerful churntoward Central Texas, where the slow-moving storm is expected to throttle coastal communities with high winds and up to 25 inches of rain.

The footage was capturedjust after 6 p.m. by cameras aboard the International Space Station, not long after the tropical cyclone aided bywarm water and favorable winds regeneratedover the Gulf of Mexico. An astronaut on board, Marine Corps Col.Randy Bresnik, later tweeted two photos of the storm with a messageof solidarity forthose in its path.

Harvey is expected to make landfall late FridaynearCorpus Christi, striking as a Category 3 hurricane with wind speeds surpassing 111 miles per hour.

[Texas in direct path of suddenly intensifying, astounding Hurricane Harvey]

Separate footagefrom the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration includes striking views from one of itsWP-3D Orion hurricane hunter aircraft as it flies through the stormseye.

A time-lapse video,recorded moments prior, shows the plane being jostled and pelted with rain before emerging in the storms relatively calm epicenter.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane hunter aircraft passed through Hurricane Harvey's eye on Aug. 24, as the storm rapidly intensified on its way to the Texas coast. (Lt Kevin Doremus/NOAA)

The National Hurricane Center has called Harveys sudden strengthening astounding.

It emerged as full-fledged hurricane only Thursday afternoon and already is predictedto be the most powerful storm to hit the United States since Hurricane Wilma battered south Florida 12 years ago.

As the Capital Weather gang reported earlier in the day, Harvey coulddump up to 25 inches of rain some isolated areas could see 35 inches and result inmassive, deadly flooding.

A big concern, meteorologists say, is the likelihood this storm will stall for four or possibly six days.

Corpus Christi hasmanylow-lying areas and a barrier island.Itslocated inNueces County, which is home to about 360,000 residents.

Though the forecast has grown only more alarming, as of Thursday nightlocal officials had not ordered anyevacuations.

The surprise hurricane is poised to be the first major test of disaster response for the Trump administration, whose appointee to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency William B. Brock Long was confirmed in June.

Joel Achenbach, Steven Mufson and Jason Samenow contributed to this report.

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In new NASA video, Hurricane Harvey looks like it's about to swallow all of Texas - Washington Post