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lightning

Lightning as seen from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper on NOAA's GOES-16 satellite from April 29, 2020. One of the lightning flashes within this thunderstorm complex was found by the World Meteorological Organization to be the longest flash on record that covered a horizontal distance of 477 miles.

World's longest lightning flash on record captured by NOAA satellites

February 1, 2022

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Lightning as seen from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper on NOAA's GOES-16 satellite from April 29, 2020. One of the lightning flashes within this thunderstorm complex was found by the World Meteorological Organization to be the longest flash on record that covered a horizontal distance of 477 miles.

Closed umbrellas on a beach with a storm approaching

4 safety tips for summer weather hazards

June 29, 2021

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Closed umbrellas on a beach with a storm approaching

Lightning strikes Citibank Ballpark in Midland, Texas.

5 striking facts versus myths about lightning you should know

August 19, 2020

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Lightning strikes Citibank Ballpark in Midland, Texas.

GOES East maps lightning on the Northern Plains, June 11, 2018.

Tracking lightning from space: How satellites keep you safe

July 17, 2018

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GOES East maps lightning on the Northern Plains, June 11, 2018.

John Jensenius

Read more about John Jensenius

The NOAA GOES East satellite (GOES-16) witnessed a frightening display of stratiform, or ‘spider’ lightning as it’s known, in October 2017 over the central plains in the U.S.

GOES East captures spider lightning from space

April 16, 2018

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geostationary satellite (GOES)

The NOAA GOES East satellite (GOES-16) witnessed a frightening display of stratiform, or ‘spider’ lightning as it’s known, in October 2017 over the central plains in the U.S.

A lightning storm at dusk over Crater Lake in Oregon

GOES-S satellite to map lightning in real time for U.S. West

February 27, 2018

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geostationary satellite (GOES)

A lightning storm at dusk over Crater Lake in Oregon

This animation from the new Geostationary Lighting Mapper (GLM) onboard the GOES-16 satellite shows lightning in clouds associated with weather system that produced severe thunderstorms and a few tornadoes in East Texas on February 14, 2017. The mapper monitors an area at 500 frames per second and can distinguish individual lightning strikes within each flash.

Flashy first images arrive from NOAA’s GOES-16 lightning mapper

March 6, 2017

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geostationary satellite (GOES)

This animation from the new Geostationary Lighting Mapper (GLM) onboard the GOES-16 satellite shows lightning in clouds associated with weather system that produced severe thunderstorms and a few tornadoes in East Texas on February 14, 2017. The mapper monitors an area at 500 frames per second and can distinguish individual lightning strikes within each flash.

Lightning strikes Citibank Ballpark in Midland, Texas.

'See a Flash, Dash Inside!' New lightning safety slogan rolls out

June 22, 2016

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Lightning strikes Citibank Ballpark in Midland, Texas.

A large, branched bolt of lightning.

NOAA scientists tackle mystery of nighttime thunderstorms

May 20, 2015

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A large, branched bolt of lightning.

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