In 2017, a single lightning bolt zipped across the skies of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, spanning a staggering 515 miles (828 kilometers) in one unbroken flash. That’s the equivalent of Paris, France to Venice, Italy.
Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash
Known as a megaflash, this record-breaking bolt lasted over 8 seconds, traveling sideways through storm clouds like an electric river in the sky.
A visualization of a megaflash that extended 515 miles created from data provided by NASA and NOAA. Michael Peterson / GTRI
Verified by the World Meteorological Organization, it remains the longest lightning strike ever recorded on Earth.
“Lightning is a source of wonder but also a major hazard that claims many lives around the world every year and is therefore one of the priorities for the international Early Warnings for All initiative. These new findings highlight important public safety concerns about electrified clouds which can produce flashes which travel extremely large distances and have a major impact on the aviation sector and can spark wildfires,”
-WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo
This storm-prone area of the United States is used to large thunderstorms, though strikes of this magnitude are rare. These enormous strikes happen at heights of 10,000 to 18,000 feet above the ground, in the middle or upper layers of the thunderstorm.
GTRI Senior Research Scientist Michael Peterson
Photo by Micah Tindell on Unsplash
For more stories on lightning, check out this Moss and Fog article about Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, that gets thunderstorms 250 days a year.
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