Missouri Hit By World Record Lightning Strike – From Texas

They say that everything is bigger in Texas. You can add lightning bolts to that list of big things as a storm over the Lonestar State just zapped Missouri and it broke a world record in doing so.

Thanks to Accuweather for this historic lightning bolt catch documenting a strike that traveled a whopping 515 miles from Texas to Missouri.

According to Accuweather, this record lightning bolt happened in a storm on October 22, 2017. They say the previous record of 477 miles happened when lightning from a storm over the Gulf of Mexico. The reason that it took so long for this record lightning bolt strike to be validated was that it was just confirmed by NOAA's GOES-16 satellite.

How much power is in a lightning bolt?

The National Weather Service estimates that an average lightning bolt contains around 300 million volts, but it can be as strong as 1 billion volts. That's the kind of power you do not want to be on the receiving end of. This world record lightning strike from Texas to Missouri is another reason why you never want to be outside when a thunderstorm is near. Even if there is sunshine over your head, a storm packing lightning can impact areas miles away. To think that a thunderstorm in Texas managed to zap Missouri is almost beyond comprehension.