Worlds Longest-Ever Lightning Flashes Recorded

Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News

CEN/@WMO

The World Meteorological Organization has confirmed two new records for both the world’s longest-lasting and largest in terms of distance lightning strikes, both over double the previous records.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the records for both the longest lightning megaflash in both distance and time were broken using new satellite lightning imagery technology.

The longest lightning flash in distance was recorded on 31st October 2018 in southern Brazil, measuring 709 kilometres (440 miles), more than doubling the previous record of 321 kilometres (199 miles) registered in Oklahoma.

The WMO said the record flash is equivalent to the distance “between London and the border of Switzerland near Basel”.

The record for the longest duration of a megaflash was registered in northern Argentina on 4th March 2019 and registered 16.73 seconds, smashing the previous record of 7.74 seconds set in France’s Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur regions on 30th August 2012.

Professor Randall Cerveny, chief rapporteur of Weather and Climate Extremes for WMO, said: “These are extraordinary records from single lightning flash events. Environmental extremes are living measurements of what nature is capable of, as well as scientific progress in being able to make such assessments.

“It is likely that even greater extremes still exist, and that we will be able to observe them as lightning detection technology improves. This will provide valuable information for establishing limits to the scale of lightning – including megaflashes – for engineering, safety and scientific concerns.”

Recent advances in space-based lightning mapping offer the ability to measure flash extent and duration continuously over broad geospatial domains.

Michael J. Peterson, of the Space and Remote Sensing Group (ISR-2) of Los Alamos National Laboratory in the USA said: “This dramatic augmentation of our space-based remote sensing capabilities has allowed the detection of previously unobserved extremes in lightning occurrence, known as ‘megaflashes,’ which are defined as horizontal mesoscale lightning discharges that reach 100s of kilometres in length.”