The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) just reassigned the record to lightning longer of the world. So far it had one that occurred in 2018, in Brazil. However, now it has happened to another happened the April 29, 2020 in the United States. This is a phenomenon known as megaflashfor which the Ray do not go directly to Earth, but go from one cloud to anothercovering large tracts of land.
Specifically, he traveled from south of Houston to the southeast of Mississippi, covering a region of 768 kilometers. Little less than the distance between Córdoba and Bilbao. And in a few seconds!
In fact, this one doesn’t hold the record for the longest lasting lightning bolt in the world. This one has also just been renamed, to be set in a thunderstorm that occurred in June 2020. It was also a megaflash, since it toured two countries, from Uruguay to northern Argentina. But the most special thing was not its length, but its duration, since it kept meandering in the sky for 17.1 seconds. Slightly more than the previous leader of the classification, which happened in 2019 and lasted 16.73 seconds. These are therefore the two new additions to the list of lightning records. But before we continue talking about them, how are lightning formed?
The origin of lightning
When the clouds are at a great height, the water droplets present inside them form particles of ice and hail that move nonstop, bumping into each other. These collisions generate a electrical charge separations, by which the positive ones are exposed on the surface of the ice and the negative ones in the hail. Ice is lighter, so it rises to the top of the cloud, while hail sits below. The result is a separation of charges that gives rise to a electric current. But where does that current go?
You have three options, which result in three different types of lightning. They may be intracloudy. That is, the current moves from one end of the cloud to the other. Let’s not forget that opposite charges attract each other, so you will always be moving between different charges. Downloads can also be given from cloud to ground. These are the most common lightning strikes, in which the current travels from the negative charges at the bottom of the cloud to the positive ones that are exposed on the surface of the earth or of objects that protrude from it. This is the case of trees, mountains or even human beings themselves.
Finally, discharges between clouds can occur. These are the ones that originate the mega flashes; since, if the discharge is very intense, it can go from cloud to cloud to cloud and cover great distances.
The ‘longest lightning bolt in the world’: many lightning bolts but a single discharge
In fact, more than the longest lightning bolt in the world, it was the one that covered the largest area of land. A single discharge traveled much of the United States in just 10 seconds.
The images were captured by the cameras of the GOES-East satellite of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and from there they passed to the experts of the World Meteorological Organization, who gave their verdict This same Tuesday, February 1. There was no doubt, it is the longest ray that has been captured since records exist.
But let’s not be fooled. It is not these immense rays that we have to fear the most. Small lightning strikes, which discharge directly on the earth’s surfacebecause they could do it on top of ourselves.
For this reason, as explained by Business Insiderthe WMO Committee for Extreme Meteorology and Climate has taken advantage of this announcement to remind us of the precautions we must take in the event of a electric storm. It is important to know where to protect ourselves, because not all hiding places are equally valid. For starters, we should never, ever hide under a tree. In fact, although the story had a happy ending, a few months ago three English brothers literally suffered the danger of doing so. They even recorded it on his cell phone camera for a unlucky selfie.
But neither is any type of housing. If possible, it should be a building with plumbing, not a bus stop or cabin. In fact, they also remember that the deadliest ray that has been recorded never happened in Zimbabwe, in 1975when 21 people who had tried to take shelter in a shack died.
For this reason, although it is true that there are accidents that are much more likely than a lightning strike, if it can be avoided, all the better. Specially in places of high electrical activity, like those recorded by the megaflashes that today are classified as the longest and most durable lightning in the world. It is a beautiful sight, but it is better not to see it from below.