A record-breaking lightning bolt just 'shocked' meteorologists

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. In October 2017, a single flash of lightning during a thunderstorm streaked across the Great Plains for 515 miles. The flash traveled from eastern Texas all the way to Kansas City--and now into the record books. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) certified that this megaflash is now the longest single lightning flash in the United States. The massive lightning bolt is detailed in a study published July 31 in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.