However,
This mega-fond waited 8 years:
A long flash like a Paris – Finder flight: the sky broke a world. Similarly, record for electricity.
On October 22. In addition, 2017, a thunderstorm gave birth to a flash that literally zebraled the United States on 828 kilometers (little less than a Lille/Marseille journey) … In addition, in a fraction of a second. Nevertheless, It took several years. Therefore, the attentive eyes of the satellites to locate this “record” electric colossus and yet invisible to the naked eye!
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A giant flash. however, made unnoticed established a new record – This mega-fond waited 8 years
It was not until 2025 that researchers, plunging back into satellite data from the American Satellite Goes-16, discovered this mega-fond. Meanwhile, This kind of lightning, as impressive as it is ephemeral, cannot be captured easily. In addition, The phenomenon had escaped the initial analysis. In addition, It took recent progress in this mega-fond waited 8 years image processing and atmospheric cartography to bring it out of data.
The lightning started in Texas and ended near Kansas City. However, A distance that an airliner would take more than 90 minutes to travel. In addition, He did it in less than a second.
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Breathtaking weather performance
The previous record. established in 2020, was already impressive: 768 kilometers long for a flash. This new performance exceeds 60 kilometers!
These Mega-Foudres occur in a very particular context: convective mesoéchelle systems (in English convective mesoscal system or MCS). These complex thunderstorms, often visible in large North American plains, are real natural laboratories of extreme phenomena. This is where lightning can stretch horizontally for several hundred kilometers, worn by the stratches of unstable air.
A silent threat to aviation and forests
This kind of flash is not just breaking records. He also poses serious security questions. Because a flash of this magnitude can affect aircraft in flight far beyond the classic stormy area. It can also light a forest fire tens of kilometers from its this mega-fond waited 8 years original point. We then understand why lightning surveillance has become a global priority, especially in the initiative “Early Warnings for All”.
The secretary general of the OMM, Celeste Saulo, recalled it: “The lightning is fascinating, but they kill. And their behavior becomes more and more unpredictable.” The message is clear: it is not enough to look at the sky above your head to be sheltered.
How do we measure such a long flash?
You might think that a flash is a simple zigzag between a cloud and the ground. In reality. the OMM measures this kind of flash using the longest distance between two points affected by the discharge, according to what is called the “distance of the large circle”. It was this rigorous method that made it possible to formalize the record.
The international team that validated the phenomenon included Professor Randall Cerveny. specialist in climatic extremes, and Michael this mega-fond waited 8 years Peterson, researcher at the Severe Storms Research Center in Georgia. Their mission: to sort through the classic small lightnings. the colossi of the atmosphere, these rare electrical monsters which redefine our weather knowledge.
Satellites to map the this mega-fond waited 8 years invisible
Before, lightnings were measured with ground sensors, often limited by geography. Today, satellites in geostationary orbit offer a continuous view of stormy activity on whole continents. Thanks to them. we can identify the duration and the exact extent of the electric discharges, even in isolated regions or without radar coverage.
This is how the Goes-16 satellite was able to detect the famous lightning of 2017. Not only its length, but also its exceptional duration and its winding trajectory through several American states.
And this is only the beginning. According to the researchers, it is likely that even longer lightnings exist, hidden somewhere in the satellite data. Technology only makes up for nature.
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Where to take shelter when the sky goes crazy?
Small useful reminder to finish. According to Walt Lyons. storm specialist: “The only safe places in front of lightning are massive buildings with electricity and plumbing, or closed metal roof vehicles.”
So this is a record that is both spectacular and disturbing. A flash of 828 kilometers is impressive on paper but it is above all a reminder that the weather has not finished surprising us. and that lightning, this mega-fond waited 8 years it has no borders
Source : https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-certifies-megaflash-lightning-record-usa
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