News Climate

A Midwest ‘megaflash’ is the longest lightning on record

The bolt sparked over 100 ground strikes and outpaced the previous record by 120 kilometers

A visualization of a the longest lightning megaflash ever recorded, which lit up the sky in October 2017 over the U.S. Midwest.

The record-breaking lightning megaflash (illustrated) spanned about 829 kilometers, roughly the distance from Dallas to Kansas City, Mo.

Michael Peterson/GTRI

By Carolyn Gramling

Read another version of this article at Science News Explores

A massive bolt of lightning that lit up the sky from Dallas to Kansas City, Mo.,