Story at a glance
- The World Meteorological Organization announced a new world record had been set after a bolt of lightning spread across three southern states.
- On April 29, 2020, a 477-mile-long lightning bolt spread across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
- On average, lightning travels only about 10 to 12 miles.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced a new record had been established after a nearly 500-mile-long single flash of lightning spread across a handful of Southern states.
FILE (iStock)
In a statement released on Tuesday, WMO said that the longest single flash of lightning covered a horizontal distance of 477 miles across parts of the Southern U.S. on April 29, 2020. The lightning flash was equivalent to the distance between New York City and Columbus, Ohio.
The 2020 lightning flash spread across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
“These are extraordinary records from single lightning flash events. Environmental extremes are living measurements of the power of nature, as well as scientific progress in being able to make such assessments. It is likely that even greater extremes still exist, and that we will be able to observe them as lightning detection technology improves,” said Randall Cerveny, rapporteur of weather and climate extremes for WMO.
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The previous longest single flash happened in 2018 and occurred over parts of southern Brazil, spanning 440 miles.
The new lightning record took place in a noted hotspot for Mesoscale Convective System thunderstorms, a weather dynamic that allows “extraordinary” megaflashes to occur, in the Great Plains in North America and the La Plata basin in South America.
The National Weather Service (NWS) says lightning can travel 10 to 12 miles from a thunderstorm, and over the course of one year the Earth will be struck by lightning nearly 20 million times.
“Lightning is a major hazard that claims many lives every year. The findings highlight important public lightning safety concerns for electrified clouds where flashes can travel extremely large distances,” said Petteri Taalas, secretary-general for WMO.
WMO warned that only substantial buildings that have wiring and plumbing are lightning-safe locations, not simpler structures like a bus stop. The second reliably safe location is a fully enclosed metal-topped vehicle.
Lightning can strike within seconds over a long distance but is usually embedded within larger thunderstorms.
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