The insanely long lightning bolt that went undercover for years: the wild story behind uncovering this climate game-changer
Sometimes, the most mind-blowing things on Earth happen right under our noses without us even realizing it. Take, for example, the longest lightning strike ever recorded in history, quietly streaking across the North American sky for a whopping 829 kilometers. Thanks to satellite technology, the World Meteorological Organization was able to confirm this incredible feat, revolutionizing our understanding of extreme weather events.
### A Lightning Strike Like No Other
Back in October 2017, a colossal lightning strike spanning 829 kilometers made its way from Texas to Kansas City, a distance greater than that between Madrid and Paris. This “megastrike” not only shattered the previous record of 768 km but was only revealed years later through a reanalysis of old data using new tools. With a minimal margin of error of just ±8 km, there’s no denying that this is the longest lightning strike ever documented.
### The Unique Nature of This Lightning Strike
Unlike your typical lightning bolts that come and go in the blink of an eye, this megastrike was born from a mesoscale convective system, a storm factory capable of producing conditions for lightning discharges of epic proportions. Experts speculate that there could be even longer lightning strikes lurking out there, unnoticed due to outdated technology. This groundbreaking discovery, published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, is reshaping our understanding of these phenomena and their potential impacts.
### A Warning and a Wonder
While this record-breaking lightning strike didn’t cause any harm, it serves as a stark reminder of the danger that lightning poses. Each year, these electrifying bolts claim lives, start wildfires, and wreak havoc on infrastructure. The World Meteorological Organization highlights other extreme lightning events, such as the longest-lasting strike (17.1 seconds over Uruguay and Argentina) or the tragic incident in Egypt in 1994 where 469 people lost their lives due to a lightning-induced fire at an oil plant. Therefore, the golden rule remains the same: seek shelter in a safe, enclosed space upon detecting any electrical activity, even if the storm seems far away.
