Satellite Image of Hurricane Matthew Resembles Skull

A creepy, unedited infrared image of Hurricane Matthew resembling a skull is making its rounds on the Internet.

Stu Ostro, senior director of Weather Communications at The Weather Channel, posted the satellite image to Twitter Tuesday as the hurricane touched down in Haiti:

The image originally came from NASA’s Earth Science Office, WLS reported. It shows Hurricane Matthew as viewed through an infrared camera lens. The lens shows the storm in bright colors that accentuate the hurricane’s eye to make it look like the eye of a skull.

Some Twitter users pointed out that the teeth in the image look like the Grinch or the Ghost Rider.

But the infrared image does have a purpose, according to CNN meteorologist Judson Jones: “Basically, scientists use color tables to identify the strongest part of the storm,” Jones said.

Ostro’s tweet has been shared more than 1,000 times.