“It’s a remarkably unusual phenomenon,” he remarked. “We only uncovered it a decade ago when specific technologies became capable of tracing the exact start and end points of a lightning event.”

Mega flashes are quite common, although they typically occur only in regions where particular geographical and atmospheric conditions can trigger severe thunderstorms, Cerveny explained. For instance, in the Great Plains and the Midwest, warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico interacts with colder northern air, resulting in significant atmospheric instability.

These conditions coalesce to produce fierce storms, which can generate a megaflash of lightning. Cerveny notes that these extraordinarily long lightning bolts have previously been recorded in Argentina and southern France, and scientists theorize they may also manifest in parts of China and Australia.

The 2017 Megaflash was generated by an immense storm that spanned large sections of the US, from Texas to Iowa and Missouri. While megaflashes can cross multiple states, they occur high in the atmosphere and seldom cause ground damage, Cerveny indicated.

“They exist in the upper and central layers of thunderstorms, towering over 10,000 to 18,000 feet,” he stated.

The lightning bolt measuring 515 miles in length is discussed in a study published on Thursday. American Weather Society Bulletin.

“These new discoveries underscore significant public safety issues concerning electrification clouds that can travel vast distances, have substantial effects on the aviation industry, and generate flashes capable of igniting wildfires,” stated WMO Secretary-General Celestesauro in an accompanying announcement.

The extreme conditions conducive to their formation serve as a stark reminder of the tremendous power and danger posed by thunderstorms. In the US, lightning claims about 20 lives annually and injures hundreds more. According to weather services.

As per the WMO, Thursday’s classification indicates that the 2017 Lightning Flash exceeds the previous world record set five years ago by roughly 38 miles. The earlier lightning bolt, recorded on April 29, 2020, spanned 477.2 miles across parts of the Southern United States.

The 2017 MegaFlash was recognized after scientists revisited archival measurements used when the storm originally formed.

“When the initial research was conducted, we didn’t possess the technology available today,” Cerveny noted. “Now, we can employ satellite instruments to detect lightning bolts with high precision and pinpoint exactly where, how long, and for what duration the lightning event occurred.”

Experts predict that even longer megaflashes may emerge in the coming years, particularly as satellite technology enhances its detection capabilities.

“As time progresses and our data records expand, we can observe the rarest types of extreme lightning on Earth and study its widespread effects on society,” remarked Michael Peterson, an atmospheric scientist at Georgia’s Center for Intense Storm Research.

The WMO committee on Climate and Climate Extremes maintains official records of global, hemispheric, and regional extremes, including those for temperature, rainfall, wind, hail, lightning, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones.