Megaflash! Longest lightning bolt ever sets new record at 829 km in span
The most epic lightning bolt in history happened eight years ago.
Now, thanks to new technology, it's finally getting recognition as the force of nature that it was.
On July 31, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced that a lightning flash that occurred in the United States back in October 2017 was the largest in recorded history.
It happened during a major thunderstorm and stretched 829 kilometres from eastern Texas to Kansas City, Missouri.
According to the WMO, if you drove from one end of the lightning flash to the other, it would take you roughly eight to nine hours.
They refer to it as a megaflash, which is a lightning bolt with a very long span — sometimes hundreds of kilometres long.
Megaflashes are lightning strikes that measure longer than 100 kilometres. (Image credit:)
WMO said its Committee on Weather and Climate Extremes was able to recognize the record using new satellite technologies that give us a deeper look into weather events.
'This new record clearly demonstrates the incredible power of the natural environment,' said Randall Cerveny, an extreme weather expert for the WMO, in a press release.
WATCH — How record-breaking hurricanes like Beryl are formed
He said it also demonstrates 'the significant scientific progress in observing, documenting and evaluating such events,' and that even more powerful flashes are sure to come.
The previous record was 768 kilometres from a 2020 lightning flash. Even though it occured three years later, the 2020 record was measured by scientists first.
Both the new and old records took place in the Great Plains, a part of the United States made up of 10 states known for a special weather system that gives rise to extreme weather.
WATCH — The beauty and destruction of ice storms
Staying safe from lightning
If a lightning storm is happening around you, it's important to go somewhere safe.
'The only lightning-safe locations are substantial buildings that have wiring and plumbing; not structures such as at a beach or bus stop,' said lightning specialist Walt Lyons in the WMO press release.
'The second reliably safe location is inside a fully enclosed metal-topped vehicle; not dune buggies or motorcycles.'
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