Lightning struck and set a world record.
The flash occurred in 2017 and spanned from eastern Texas to near west-central Missouri — a distance of 515 miles, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Eight years later, scientists have recognized the lightning flash as the longest ever documented.
A long distance: The distance it traveled in seven seconds “would take at least eight hours by car or 90 minutes by commercial plane,” per NBC News.
What the experts are saying: “This new record clearly demonstrates the incredible power of the natural environment,” Arizona State University geographer Randall Cerveny told USA Today.
- “We’re excited to see what kinds of lightning come out of this new work, and especially as technology improves and we are able to get satellites and other parts of the world, then we’ll be able to expand towards the eventual vision of providing global coverage of lightning‚" said Michael Peterson, the report’s lead author and a senior research scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute, per CBS News.
Not the longest duration: While it was the longest in horizontal distance ever recorded, at seven seconds, it did not have the longest duration. That title belongs to a megaflash that took place over Argentina and Uruguay in June 2020 lasting about 17 seconds, CBS News reported.
What are megaflashes? “Most lightning flashes are limited to less than 10 miles in reach,” USA Today reported. “When a lightning bolt reaches beyond 60 miles (100 kilometers to be exact), it’s considered a megaflash.”
How did scientists record the megaflash? Satellites with lightning mappers tracked and updated the process to track lightning bolts, according to Space.com.