In October 2017, lightning flashed across the sky in America’s heartland. But this wasn’t your average storm. The single, enormous bolt—known as a “megaflash”—stretched across multiple states, from eastern Texas to west-central Missouri,

A lightning flash tore across the sky above the Great Plains, stretching across a staggering 515 miles (829 kilometers) from eastern Texas to Kansas City. That “megaflash” shattered the previous record for longest lightning flash of 477 miles (768 kilometers), set in 2023.