World's Longest Lightning Bolt Struck 3 US States at Once
2022-02-02
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1A strike of lightning that stretched across three American states has been identified as the longest ever recorded.
2The United Nations weather agency announced the finding on Tuesday.
3The lightning strike, or bolt, was recorded on April 29, 2020, the World Meteorological Organization, WMO, said.
4It covered an area of 768 kilometers across the states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
5The old record, set in 2018, was a lightning strike in Brazil that covered 709 kilometers.
6WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said the new record demonstrated the speed by which lightning can strike.
7"That trip by air(plane) would take a couple of hours and in this case the distance was covered in a matter of seconds," Nullis told Reuters.
8The new record was confirmed using new satellite tracking technology, the WMO said.
9The technology permits weather officials to effectively measure the size and duration of lightning bolts across the world.
10The agency also announced another record, for the longest duration of a single bolt.
11That strike happened during a storm over Uruguay and northern Argentina on June 18, 2020.
12It lasted 17.1 seconds.
13The old record for duration was 16.7 seconds for a bolt that hit over northern Argentina on March 4, 2019.
14Arizona State University's Randall Cerveny is the chief of record confirmations for the WMO.
15He told The Associated Press that lightning normally does not stretch farther than 16 kilometers.
16It usually lasts less than a second.
17Cerveny called the two lightning bolt records "extraordinary."
18He noted that both record strikes happened between clouds hundreds of meters above the ground, so no one was in danger.
19Cerveny said the areas where both strikes were recorded are two of only a few places on Earth that experience the kind of intense storms that can produce what scientists call "megaflashes."
20The WMO's Nullis said that while the two record bolts never touched the ground, they should serve as a warning about the dangers of lightning.
21Hundreds of people die from getting struck by lightning each year.
22"We reiterate our message: when thunder roars, when you see lightning - go indoors," Nullis said.
23I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A strike of lightning that stretched across three American states has been identified as the longest ever recorded. 2The United Nations weather agency announced the finding on Tuesday. 3The lightning strike, or bolt, was recorded on April 29, 2020, the World Meteorological Organization, WMO, said. It covered an area of 768 kilometers across the states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. 4The old record, set in 2018, was a lightning strike in Brazil that covered 709 kilometers. 5WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said the new record demonstrated the speed by which lightning can strike. "That trip by air(plane) would take a couple of hours and in this case the distance was covered in a matter of seconds," Nullis told Reuters. 6The new record was confirmed using new satellite tracking technology, the WMO said. The technology permits weather officials to effectively measure the size and duration of lightning bolts across the world. 7The agency also announced another record, for the longest duration of a single bolt. That strike happened during a storm over Uruguay and northern Argentina on June 18, 2020. It lasted 17.1 seconds. The old record for duration was 16.7 seconds for a bolt that hit over northern Argentina on March 4, 2019. 8Arizona State University's Randall Cerveny is the chief of record confirmations for the WMO. He told The Associated Press that lightning normally does not stretch farther than 16 kilometers. It usually lasts less than a second. 9Cerveny called the two lightning bolt records "extraordinary." He noted that both record strikes happened between clouds hundreds of meters above the ground, so no one was in danger. 10Cerveny said the areas where both strikes were recorded are two of only a few places on Earth that experience the kind of intense storms that can produce what scientists call "megaflashes." 11The WMO's Nullis said that while the two record bolts never touched the ground, they should serve as a warning about the dangers of lightning. Hundreds of people die from getting struck by lightning each year. 12"We reiterate our message: when thunder roars, when you see lightning - go indoors," Nullis said. 13I'm Bryan Lynn. 14The Associated Press, Reuters and the World Meteorological Organization reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 15_____________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17track - v. to record the progress or development of something 18duration - n. the amount of time that something lasts 19reiterate - v. to say something again so that people take notice of it 20thunder - n. the sound that follows a bolt of lightning that is caused by a sudden expansion of air 21roar - n. a loud, deep sound 22We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.