A new record for the longest lightning bolt recorded in United States history was recently set and you may be surprised at just how long this bolt was.

I have seen a lot of lightning in my days out on the road touring with one of the many bands I have played in. When you are on the road for long periods you get to see a lot of stuff like lightning storms.

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No one likes it when their power is out because lightning hit a nearby transformer but you have to admit, when you see lightning off in the distance there is a beauty to it.

When I first moved into my current house in Newaygo County,  boys and I had moved tons of stuff into our new home but had not set up anything yet. So our first night at the house was just kicking back on mattresses on the floor and we were amazed at the light show mother nature put on for us.

Weather is a lot like sports where meteorologists and national weather services keep track of stats just like analysts in sports do. Records have been kept every day since weather services have existed.

Well, a new world record for the longest lightning bolt has been set, and it's a big one. I have to say I have never seen one this big, but 477.2 miles across 3 states...now that's a lightning bolt. You have to see this beast in action so check out this satellite footage below.

According to the World Meteorologist Organization, this nearly 500-mile long lightning bolt occurred in the southern United States, on April 20, 2021. The new record-breaking lightning bolt stretched across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

The 477.2-mile long lightning bolt beat the previous record of 440.6 miles that was set in France in 2018.

Too bad there wasn't a way to harness all the electricity so we could get free electricity...hey, one can dream can't they?

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