TYLER, Texas (KETK) – The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed a new world record for the longest lightning flash or “megaflash,” which struck from East Texas to Kansas City.
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The extensive 515-mile-long lightning flash struck during a severe thunderstorm complex on Oct. 22 of 2017. The flash could be seen from southeast of Dallas, near Athens and Corsicana, across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and into Missouri, near Kansas City.
“This new record clearly demonstrates the incredible power of the natural environment,” WMO rapporteur of Weather and Climate Extremes Randall Cerveny said. “Additionally, WMO assessment of environmental extremes such as this lightning distance record testify to the significant scientific progress in observing, documenting and evaluating such events.”
According to Cerveny, it’s likely that even greater lighting extremes will be found as more measurements are collected over time. The 2017 record flash was announced on July 31, after scientists finished reexamining data collected by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-16).
“Over time, as the data record continues to expand, we will be able to observe even the rarest types of extreme lightning on Earth and investigate the broad impacts of lightning on society,” Michael J. Peterson with the Severe Storms Research Center (SSRC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology said…