World record 770km lightning bolt lights up three US states
- The ‘megaflash’ covered the distance between Texas and Mississippi in seconds – a trip that would have taken hours in a plane
- Another bolt above Uruguay and Argentina set a record as the longest-lasting at 17.1 seconds
A single lightning bolt that leapt across three US states has been identified as the longest ever, the UN weather agency said on Tuesday.
Dubbed a megaflash, the rare low-rate horizontal discharge covered 768km (477 miles) between clouds in Texas and Mississippi in April 2020.
It was detected by scientists using satellite technology and its distance – beating the previous record by 60km – confirmed by a World Meteorological Organisation committee.
“That trip by [plane] would take a couple of hours and in this case the distance was covered in a matter of seconds,” WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis said.
Another megaflash that occurred above Uruguay and Argentina in June 2020 also set a record, as the longest-lasting at 17.1 seconds, the WMO said.
While these two newly catalogued megaflashes never touched the ground, they serve as a reminder of the dangers of a weather phenomenon that kill hundreds of people a year.