THE world’s longest lightning bolt stretched nearly 500 miles across three states and lasted for almost nine seconds.
The flash extended 477.2miles across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi in April 2020 – shattering the previous feat of 440.6 miles which was set in 2018 in Brazil.
It lasted eight and a half seconds as it spanned towards Freeport, located on the Gulf of Mexico.
Experts at the World Meteorological Organization said the length equated to the distance between New York City and Columbus, Ohio.
The previous record was set in Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil in October 2018.
The WMO says that the record flash happened in hotspots for “mesoscale convective system” thunderstorms where megaflashes can occur.
Megaflashes are defined as bolts of lightning that stretch hundreds of miles.
Lightning doesn’t usually stretch more than ten miles and barely lasts a second, according to Randall Cerveny of Arizona State University.
Most read in The Sun
nosh spice 
Victoria Beckham has eaten the same meal every day for 25 years, says David
This Morning reveal Phillip Schofield's replacement after positive Covid result
Denise van Outen reveals secret date with F1 legend in New York
Rihanna, 33, is pregnant with her first child with boyfriend A$AP Rocky
In the same year, a single lightning flash over Uruguay and northern Argentina lasted 17.1 seconds – eclipsing the previous record of 16.7 seconds.
Cerveny said: “These two lightning flash records are absolutely extraordinary.”
No humans were in danger as both events happened several thousand feet above the ground.
WMO Secretary-General Prof Petteri Taalas warned that the findings “highlight important public lightning safety concerns”.
Weather records can take years to establish but lightning detection equipment onboard satellites helped certify the feat.
Cerveny said: “It is likely that even greater extremes still exist and that we will be able to observe them as lightning detection technology improves.”
'EXTRAORDINARY FEAT'
A lightning strike is when an electric discharge from the atmosphere is sent down into an earth-bound object.
Most lightning strikes do not touch humans and the odds of being struck by lightning are very low.
It's estimated that around 24,000 people each year around the world are killed in lightning strikes.
The electoral surge from a lightning strike can cause third-degree burns and it may disrupt the heart’s rhythm, causing potential cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Only 11 people in the US died from lightning strikes last year, according to research produced by the National Lightning Safety Council.
Lightning kills around 49 and injures hundreds of people on average each year in the US, National Weather Service data reveals.
Experts speculate that the record low was due to people being more aware of the precautions to take in lightning storms, or quarantining at home amid the Covid pandemic, according to the Washington Post.
Texas and Florida were the top two states to experience the most lightning last year.
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
Email us at [email protected] or call 212 416 4552.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS
Source: Read Full Article