【The Whore of the Rings (2001)】

Typhoon Noru is The Whore of the Rings (2001)a monster.

The huge typhoon in the Pacific Ocean became the most powerful storm on Earth over the weekend. Noru intensified into a major super typhoon over the course of just about one day, making it the most powerful storm of 2017 so far.

According to the Weather Channel, the storm's winds increased by 90 miles per hour in only 18 hours. That intensification made it as strong as a Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 165 miles per hour.

SEE ALSO: 'Fujiwhara effect,' a rare weather event marked by dancing cyclones, expected this week

Since that time, the typhoon has weakened to the equivalent of a Category 2, with sustained winds of about 105 miles per hour, but it could re-intensify later this week according to some forecasts.

Noru also looks pretty dang impressive from space.

Two NASA astronauts and a cosmonaut on the International Space Station caught sight of the giant storm from the windows of the space laboratory.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Meteorologists think that Noru might go through another round of intensification before impacting Japan this weekend.

Satellites are keeping a close eye on the typhoon as well, tracking it as it moves toward the island nation over the course of the next few days.

Via GiphyOriginal image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Via Giphy

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Noru has already lived a pretty full life as a storm.

Last week, Noru actually danced with another tropical storm in the Pacific, cannibalizing it before moving on through the ocean.

The two storms spun around each other before smacking into one another. That dance is a rare event known as the Fujiwhara effect, which makes the two storms look somewhat like a huge fidget spinner.

UPDATE: Aug. 1, 2017, 4:03 p.m. EDT This story was updated to include another tweet featuring a photo of the storm from space.

---

Featured Video For You

---

It's official, 2016 was Earth's warmest year on record

---

(Editor: {typename type="name"/})