American researchers used archived satellite data to document that in 2017 a record-breaking long lightning streak was formed, stretching for 880 km from Texas to Missouri.
The previous world record was set in 2020. Back then, the length of the lightning reached 768 km. Megaflashes of lightning is lightning with a length of at least 100 km. The length of an average lightning bolt is usually less than 16 km. At the same time, most lightning is no more than 2.5 cm wide.
“We call it a mega-lightning flash, and we’re just starting to understand the mechanisms of how and why it happens,” — says Professor at Arizona State University, Randy Cerveny.
To determine the record megaflare, the researchers analyzed satellite data GOES-16 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, equipped with a lightning mapper who registers about a million lightning bolts per day. The analysis showed the true length of the lightning: 880 km.
Previously, researchers used terrestrial radio networks to track lightning. However, satellites with lightning mappers are improving this process.
“The addition of continuous measurements from the geostationary orbit is a significant achievement. We are now at a stage where most of the world’s megaflashes are covered by geostationary satellites and data processing methods have improved, allowing us to correctly map flashes in the vast amount of observational data at all scales”, — explains lead author of the article from the Georgia Institute of Technology Research Institute, Michael Peterson.
Such mega-flashes of lightning are quite rare. They are generated by less than 1% of thunderstorms. According to a study by scientists led by Michael Peterson, thunderstorms that cause mega-lightning, usually raging for 14 hours or more, covering areas at least the size of the state of New Jersey.
“There are likely to be even stronger extremes, and we will be able to observe them as additional high-quality lightning data accumulates over time”, — says Professor Randy Cerveny.
The results of the study are published in the journal AMS
Source: Space
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