News Flash: Oklahoma broke another weather record! The Sooner State now holds the record for the longest lightning bolt in the world. We all know Oklahoma is known for crazy weather, but the distance this bolt traveled is insane.
On June 20, 2007, a mesoscale convective storm system came rolling into the Tulsa area a little after 1 a.m. The storm was full of lightning but no one expected what happened next:
skyseeker/Flickr
A flash of lightning traveled the distance of almost 200 miles - from Tulsa all the way across the state to the Panhandle - that’s 10 times the distance meteorologists thought was possible.
Dylan Edwards/Flickr
The lightning bolt lasted almost 6 seconds. Due to this recent discovery, officials now have to update the definition of a lightning strike.
Jared Smith/Flickr
Leave it to Oklahoma to break another record. From earthquakes to tornadoes to lightning, Oklahoma is always full of surprises.
Terry Presler/Flickr
skyseeker/Flickr
Dylan Edwards/Flickr
Jared Smith/Flickr
Terry Presler/Flickr
Can you believe a lightning bolt can travel up to 200 miles? That is totally insane!
Have you seen the footage of the largest tornado in history? It happened in Oklahoma in 2013…you can view it here.
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