A bolt of lightning that stretched nearly 500 miles across three states in 2020 has been certified as the world-record holder for longest flash.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) made the announcement Monday, saying the “megaflash” lit up parts of the southern United States on April 29, 2020 and covered a distance of 477.2 miles. That’s more than 30 miles longer than the previous record set in 2018.
A “megaflash” is a continuous lighting flash that has a path of 100 km (approximately 62 miles) or greater, according to the American Meteorological Society. Because of those long distances, the flashes of lightning can last for five seconds or longer. Normal lightning doesn’t stretch beyond 10 miles and lasts less than a second, The Associated Press reported.
The record-setting bolt traveled across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, WMO reported.
The WMO also certified a new record for the longest single flash of lightning, which was 17.1 seconds and was over Uruguay and Northern Argentina on June 18, 2020.
“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 professor Randall Cerveny, chief of records confirmation for WMO.
Both of the record-setting lightning strikes were cloud-to-cloud and stayed several thousand feet above the ground, so no humans were in danger, the AP reported.
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