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Nearly 500-mile-long lightning bolt hit Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi

A lightning flash that extended across three states in the U.S. now holds the world record

By Gitanjali Poonia Gitanjali Pooniagpoonia@deseretnews.com
SHARE Nearly 500-mile-long lightning bolt hit Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi
A satellite image of a thunderstorm.

This satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a thunderstorm complex which was found to contain the longest single flash that covered a horizontal distance on record, at around 477 miles across parts of the southern United States on April 29, 2020. This record was confirmed on Monday.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via Associated Press

A bolt of lightning stretched 477 miles across three states in the U.S. was confirmed Monday as the new record holder for the longest flash.

The flash extended across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi in April 2020, the World Meteorological Organization said Monday on Twitter.

This beats the old record set in 2018 in Brazil of 440.6 miles, according to The Associated Press.

The organization also announced a new record for the longest-lasting lightning strike that lasted for a duration of 17.1 seconds over Uruguay and northern Argentina.

Normally, lightning doesn’t extend farther than 10 miles and lasts seconds, the report added, which is why the two lightning flash records are extraordinary.

Since the lightning in the U.S. was several thousand feet above the ground and cloud to cloud, no one was in danger.

  • According to CBS News, lightning strikes 25 million times per year in the U.S., summer months being the prime season, though people can get struck at any time of the year.
  • John Jensenius, a lightning specialist, said that 80% of fatalities occur in men, suggesting several possibilities, including men being unaware of associated dangers, are more likely to be vulnerable situations outdoors or unwilling to be bothered by the threat.