Record Lightning Flash Stretches From Dallas to KC

Holy moley, that's a lot of lightning!

A researcher from Georgia Tech helped discover what is now officially the longest lightning bolt ever recorded. This enormous flash of lightning stretched from Dallas, Texas, all the way to Kansas City, Missouri. That’s 515 miles! To give you some perspective, that’s farther than the distance from Atlanta to New Orleans. And the lightning wasn’t just a quick zap. It lasted 7.39 seconds and hit the ground more than 100 times along the way.

Lightning Flash Lasts 7 Seconds Hits Ground 100 Times

This type of lightning is called a “megaflash,” and it’s not something you see during your average thunderstorm. Instead of going straight from the cloud to the ground like regular lightning, megaflashes travel sideways across the sky, staying inside giant storm systems.

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Now, you might be wondering why this matters. Sure, it’s cool, but what’s the big deal? Well, understanding how lightning works, especially these super long flashes, can actually help scientists improve weather forecasts and safety alerts. If we can better predict when and where megaflashes might happen, we can keep people safer during severe storms.

Also, learning about lightning helps researchers understand how energy moves through the atmosphere. That’s important for everything from aviation safety to climate science.

Check out the video below: