Extremely prolonged bolt of lightning verified from a 2017 weather occurrence
Record-Breaking Megaflash Lightning Strikes Five States in 2017
A remarkable event took place on October 22, 2017, when a horizontally extensive "megaflash" lightning bolt streaked across five U.S. states, setting a new world record for its length. The lightning bolt, which spanned from eastern Texas through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and reaching near Kansas City, Missouri, measured an astonishing 515 miles long and lasted approximately seven seconds.
The megaflash was initially unreported, but was later discovered through a reanalysis using advanced satellite technologies such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) on NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite. Prior to satellite observation, ground sensors could not fully capture such an extensive bolt.
This megaflash was unusual due to its extraordinary horizontal length, much greater than typical lightning flashes which usually extend less than 60 miles. The cause of this immense lightning bolt can be traced back to the fundamental process of lightning formation, where electrons accumulate in one region of a storm cloud, creating an ionized path through the air, allowing an electrical discharge to flow between negatively and positively charged regions in the storm.
The exact details of how the initial lightning spark forms are still debated among scientists. However, the occurrence of such a large-scale megaflash likely reflects extraordinary storm dynamics producing a continuous electrical discharge horizontally across a very large area of storm clouds.
This event has pushed meteorologists to rethink the spatial scale of electric phenomena in storms and highlights the capabilities of modern satellite instrumentation for extreme weather study. The study of the October 2017 megaflash has provided scientists with more understanding of how electricity travels large chains of thunderstorms.
It is worth noting that megaflashes are not very common, and their study has only been under closer research in the last 10 years. The October 2017 lightning bolt was first identified and confirmed through a reanalysis, and the details of this event were made public through a press release from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The WMO recognized the 2017 lightning bolt as a new record, and the organization confirmed the existence of a 515-mile-long lightning bolt on Oct, 22, 2017. The storms on that day were strong due to the unstable atmosphere caused by the combination of moisture and heat, with temperatures in the region reaching into the upper 60s and lower 70s.
The journal article about the October 2017 storm can be found on the American Meteorological Society Bulletin Board. The study of the October 2017 storm has provided valuable insights into the nature of megaflashes and the role they play in extreme weather events.
The extraordinary megaflash lightning event, which occurred on October 22, 2017, was a significant discovery in the field of environmental science, particularly regarding the study of weather patterns. This record-breaking 515-mile lightning bolt stretched across five states, largely due to the unusual storm dynamics that caused a continuous electrical discharge across a vast area.
Furthermore, this event has highlighted the importance of satellite technologies such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) in tracking and understanding extreme weather events and phenomena, like megaflashes.
