megaflash
noun

lightning that has a length of 100 km or more

Collins Dictionary

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ORIGIN

Flash “a sudden burst of flame or light” is from the 1560s and originally referred to lightning.

“Wit, laughter, anger, etc.” is from c. 1600.

“Period occupied by a flash, very short time” is from the 1620s.

“First news report” is from 1857.

“Photographic lamp” is from 1913.

The phrase “a flash in the pan” is from 1704 and refers to old-style firearms, where the powder might ignite in the pan but fail to spark the main charge; hence the figurative sense “a brilliant outburst followed by failure”.

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WILL YOU GET HIT BY LIGHTNING?

Although a lot of people are afraid of getting hit by lightning, the odds of being struck in an 80-year lifetime are remote (just 1 in 12,000 if you live in the U.S.).

Notwithstanding, astraphobia* (fear of lightning) is the third most common phobia in America, behind acrophobia (fear of heights) and zoophobia (fear of animals).

* Fritscher, Lisa — Astraphobia - Fear of Thunder and Lightning

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THE HUMAN LIGHTNING ROD

Roy Cleveland Sullivan (February 7, 1912 – September 28, 1983) was a United States park ranger in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Between 1942 and 1977, Sullivan was hit by lightning on seven occasions and survived all of them. For this reason, he gained the nicknames “Human Lightning Conductor” and “Human Lightning Rod”.

Sullivan is recognized by Guinness World Records as the person struck by lightning more times than any other human being.

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“The longest recorded MEGAFLASH covered a horizontal distance of 768 km across parts of the southern United States on 29 April 2020 — equivalent to the distance between London and Hamburg."

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HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40