This satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a thunderstorm complex which was found to contain the longest single flash that covered a horizontal distance on record, at around 768 kilometers (477 miles) across parts of the southern United States on April 29, 2020. Two stormy parts of the Americas set records for longest lightning flashes back in 2020, the World Meteorological Organization said Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. (NOAA via AP)
A bolt of lightning that stretched nearly 500 miles across three U.S. states is the new world record holder for longest flash.
The single flash extended 477.2 miles (768 kilometers) across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi in April 2020, the World Meteorological Organization said Monday. That beat the old record set in 2018 in Brazil of 440.6 miles (709 kilometers).
Also in 2020, a single lightning flash over Uruguay and northern Argentina lasted 17.1 seconds, nipping the old time record of 16.7 seconds.
Normally lightning doesn’t stretch farther than 10 miles and lasts less than a second, said Arizona State University’s Randall Cerveny, who is the chief of records confirmation for the meteorological organization.
“These two lightning flash records are absolutely extraordinary,” Cerveny said in an email.
Both were cloud-to-cloud, several thousand feet above the ground, so no one was in danger, he said.
These records, which are not linked to climate change, were spotted and confirmed thanks to new satellite tracking technology. Both regions are two of the few places in the world prone to the type of intense storms that can produce what are called “megaflashes, ” Cerveny said.
Shelli Avenevoli, Ph.D., the deputy director for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), joined Cheddar to discuss concerns about the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the nation's youth. While mental health issues have been a point of concern for the populace at large, Avenevoli talked about how vulnerable young people have been during the COVID-19 crisis. "It's important to keep in mind, for children and adolescents, that the pandemic is occurring during a time of very formative development when social connection is vital for health and optimal function," she said. Avenevoli also noted broad political and social upheavals that have contributed to the issue but also things that can be done to help minors with their mental wellbeing.
Cheddar Innovates gets a look at the satellite that's searching for the earliest light from the big bang, plus a former Nike executive breaks down what the new era of sportswear looks like.
A packed Thursday pod: Carlo and Baker cover the latest developments in the Ghislaine Maxwell, Jussie Smollett and Elizabeth Holmes trials. Plus, Dems are losing the Hispanic vote, Boris Johnson in trouble again, and is it possible that Adele has peaked?
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, faced withering questions on Capitol Hill about the reports the social media app was aware of the severe mental health impacts it was having on teenage girls. Karen Kornbluh, the director of digital innovation and democracy for the German Marshall Fund, joined Cheddar to discuss the rare show of bipartisan outrage on display at the Senate hearing. "The senators came really loaded for bear on both sides of the aisle," she said. Kornbluh explained how senators like Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) set up fake Instagram accounts with teen girl profiles in order to research the effects firsthand.
A mental health crisis among young people is looming, and a large part of it is online. Cheddar News speaks with digital policy expert Karen Kornbluh on the issue.
Back in 2010, several large companies pledged to work towards stopping deforestation by 2020. Companies like Nestle and Carrefour even went further to say that they would eliminate deforestation from their supply chains altogether. However, fast forward to 2020, many of these companies have failed to reach that goal. Associate Director of Forest at the CDP Nadia Bishai, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A new study by Pfizer-BioNTech found that a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the emerging omicron variant. The pharmaceutical giants also look to manufacture a vaccine specific to the omicron variant by March 2022.
