Sinister skull seen in Hurricane Matthew satellite image

Sinister skull seen in Hurricane Matthew satellite image

We've all watched clouds trying to figure out what they look like - a rabbit, a dragon, a pony - but a satellite image of Hurricane Matthew has the internet convinced it looks like an evil skull.

The category 4 hurricane has already left a path of destruction and linked to 17 deaths in the Caribbean and is heading for the US state of Florida.

It's been called the fiercest storm in the region in almost a decade.

Sinister skull seen in Hurricane Matthew satellite image

The infrared image of Hurricane Matthew (NASA Earth Science Office)

But it's one infrared image of the monster hurricane which has the internet talking - though there's some dispute over what it actually looks like.

The most common interpretation is a sinister skull, with a glowing red eye and teeth which is perhaps fitting with Halloween just weeks away.

Sinister skull seen in Hurricane Matthew satellite image

What Hurricane Matthew looks like to the naked eye (NASA Earth Science Office)

Some on Twitter say they see a rhino head, while some in the Newshub office saw a dog's head.

Metservice says the red 'eye' in the image is also the eye of the storm, while the 'teeth' are made up of cold convective clouds.

The yellow part of the image represents the warmest temperatures, with the grey portions the coldest.

Tropical cyclones in the northern hemisphere spin anti-clockwise which is the opposite to their southern hemisphere counterparts.

Newshub.