As Hurricane Kristy strengthened into a major hurricane, NOAA satellites captured some spectacular videos of the storm from space.

Kristy, formed from the remains of Atlantic Tropical Storm Nadine is sweeping westward across the Eastern Pacific early this week with strong winds of 150 miles per hour.

The storm is now a Category 4 hurricane, Reaching Category 1 strength on Tuesday and Category 3 strength on Wednesday. All storms of Category 3 or higher are considered major hurricanes.

“Kristy is forecast to remain in a favorable environment over the next 24 hours or so, with warm sea surface temperatures and light vertical wind shear. The intensity forecast suggests slight re-intensification during this time,” the NHC said in a forecast discussion Thursday at 8 a.m. PDT.

Kristy is not expected to impact the United States, but it could trigger “life-threatening” waves off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.

“Swells caused by Kristy will impact portions of the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula later this week and into the weekend. These waves are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the NHC warned.

Kristy is a Pacific hurricane, meaning it has different rules than Atlantic hurricanes like Hurricane Milton and the others that hit the U.S. this year.

Atlantic hurricanes often move toward the U.S. mainland or Caribbean islands, while Pacific hurricanes tend to move away from the Mexican coast and head toward the open ocean, although they occasionally hit Mexico or Hawaii.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, while the Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to November 30 in the Eastern Pacific and from June 1 to November 30 in the Central Pacific.

The water in the Eastern Pacific is consistently warmer than in the Atlantic, which means storms typically form earlier and more frequently. The first Eastern Pacific hurricane this year was Hurricane Carlotta in early August.

“Tropical cyclones can only form when conditions in the atmosphere are right, even if ocean temperatures are high enough,” said Liz Stephens, professor of meteorology at the University of Reading Newsweek.

Kristy It is expected to continue moving northwest across the Pacific as a severe hurricane before weakening back to a tropical storm and turning southwest.

“The environment is rapidly becoming hostile along Kristy's forecast path with strong wind shear, drier air and cooler sea surface temperatures,” the NHC said. “The NHC intensity forecast follows these trends and shows rapid weakening. It now shows residual low status after 72 hours and resolution after 120 hours.”

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