How long can a lightning bolt be?
Recent research from Vaisala-GAI’s LDAR and LDAR II lightning detection networks show that lightning can travel 60 miles or more. The longest bolts start at the front of a squall line and travel horizontally back into clouds trailing behind the squall line. The longest bolt they have seen to date was 118 miles long in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX area. Since 3-D lightning measurements are relatively new, scientists are learning more every day and these numbers may change.
