Scientists have confirmed a new world record has been set for the longest flash of lightning
During a thunderstorm, an almost 800 kilometre long bolt of lightning decorated the sky across three US states.
The single flash was seen over Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas in April 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
That beat the previous record of 709km recorded in 2018 in Brazil.
The Chief of Records Confirmation for the meteorological group, Randall Cerveny, says lightning usually reaches lengths no more than 16 kilometres and lasts under a second.
“These are extraordinary records from lightning flash events,”
HE SAYS.
“No Danger”
He added that both bolts were cloud-to-cloud and several thousand feet above the ground, so no one was in danger.
The WMO says these records occurred in areas prone to more intense storms that produce ‘megaflashes’.
These records, which are not linked to climate change, were spotted and confirmed by new satellite tracking technology.
In the future, as lightning detection technology improves, it will allow more extremes to be seen.
Written by Savannah Pocock
