@article{5039e9d13b6445fb8a3f5e4edbbc2fb5,
title = "New World Meteorological Organization Certified Megaflash Lightning Extremes for Flash Distance (709 km) and Duration (16.73 s) Recorded From Space",
abstract = "Identification and validation of atmospheric extremes are essential to monitoring climate change, to addressing engineering and safety concerns, and to promoting technological advancement. An international World Meteorological Organization evaluation committee has critically adjudicated and recommended acceptance of two lightning megaflash events (horizontal mesoscale lightning discharges of >100 km in length) as new global extremes using analysis of Geostationary Lightning Mapper data. The world's greatest extent for an individual lightning flash is a single flash that covered a horizontal distance of 709 ± 8 km (441 ± 5 mi) across parts of southern Brazil on 31 October 2018. The greatest duration for a single lightning flash is 16.730 ± 0.002 s from a flash that developed continuously over northern Argentina on 4 March 2019.",
keywords = "extremes, flash distance, flash duration, lightning, megaflash",
author = "Peterson, {Michael J.} and Lang, {Timothy J.} and Bruning, {Eric C.} and Rachel Albrecht and Blakeslee, {Richard J.} and Lyons, {Walter A.} and St{\'e}phane P{\'e}deboy and William Rison and Yijun Zhang and Manola Brunet and Cerveny, {Randall S.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Ed Zipser and E. E. {\'A}vila for their very helpful comments. We thank the dedicated people at NOAA, NOAA, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Lockheed Martin, and Harris Corporation, and the members of the GLM science team. We specifically recognize Hugh Christian and Steve Goodman who guided the GLM technology. E. R. B. acknowledges support from NASA (80NSSC19K1576), NOAA (NA19NES4320002 via U. Maryland), and National Science Foundation Award AGS1352144. Major funding for T. L. and the Argentina LMA came from the NOAA GOES‐R Program, with additional support from the NASA Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) project. Los Alamos National Laboratory (M. J. P.) is operated by Triad National Security, LLC, under Contract 89233218CNA000001. R. A. acknowledges funding support from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient{\'i}fico e Tecnol{\'o}gico (CNPq) via Grants 438638/2018‐2 and 311457/2017‐7, and Funda{\c c}{\~a}o de Amparo {\`a} Pesquisa do Estado de S{\~a}o Paulo (FAPESP) via Grant 2015/14497‐0. Funding Information: We thank Ed Zipser and E.?E. ?vila for their very helpful comments. We thank the dedicated people at NOAA, NOAA, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Lockheed Martin, and Harris Corporation, and the members of the GLM science team. We specifically recognize Hugh Christian and Steve Goodman who guided the GLM technology. E.?R.?B. acknowledges support from NASA (80NSSC19K1576), NOAA (NA19NES4320002 via U. Maryland), and National Science Foundation Award AGS1352144. Major funding for T.?L. and the Argentina LMA came from the NOAA GOES-R Program, with additional support from the NASA Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) project. Los Alamos National Laboratory (M.?J.?P.) is operated by Triad National Security, LLC, under Contract 89233218CNA000001. R.?A. acknowledges funding support from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq) via Grants 438638/2018-2 and 311457/2017-7, and Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado de S?o Paulo (FAPESP) via Grant 2015/14497-0. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright}2020. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.",
year = "2020",
month = aug,
day = "28",
doi = "10.1029/2020GL088888",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "47",
journal = "Geophysical Research Letters",
issn = "0094-8276",
publisher = "American Geophysical Union",
number = "16",
}