Hurricane Joaquin rapidly intensified into a Category 4 on Thursday, providing us with stunning views of the storm from space.

Unfortunately, this intensification could not have happened at a worse time, with the powerful hurricane swirling near the central Bahamas.

(MORE: Joaquin Forecast | Interactive Storm Tracker )

The first image was taken from the International Space Station early Friday morning, U.S. Eastern time. Note the purplish flash just south of the center of Hurricane Joaquin. That's a lightning flash in a trailing rainband south of Joaquin's eyewall. (Lightning is not uncommon in these rainbands, and occasionally occurs within the eyewall itself , indicative of rapid intensification.)

This image is from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor aboard NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite. It shows Joaquin as it was intensifying early in the morning on Thursday when it was a Category 2.

This infrared satellite image shows Joaquin at the time it reached Category 4 status near 2 p.m. EDT Thursday.

Hurricane Joaquin about the time it first reached major hurricane status (Category 3 or stronger) on Thursday morning. This image shows the hurricane from the GOES West satellite.

Visible satellite image of Hurricane Joaquin at the time it reached Category 4 status near 2 p.m. EDT Thursday. This shows how the clouds would look to the naked eye from space.

A zoomed out view of Hurricane Joaquin on Thursday, giving a perspective of its size in relation to the United States.

This water vapor satellite image of the U.S. and Joaquin shows an upper-level system moving into the Southeast (orange area). That upper-level system will interact with a front off the East Coast and moisture from Joaquin to bring flooding rainfall to the Southeast.

Visible satellite image and the wind field of Hurricane Joaquin as a Category 4 Thursday afternoon. Stronger winds are in dark red.

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