Dr Randall Cerveny is a President’s Professor in Geographical Sciences who specializes in weather and climate in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University, USA. He has also been the Rapporteur of Weather and Climate Extremes for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) since 2007.
A single lightning flash that occurred over Uruguay and northern Argentina on 18 June 2020 lasted for 17.102 sec (give or take 0.002 sec). The event was verified by the World Meteorological Organization on 1 February 2022. The average duration for a lightning bolt is just 0.2 sec.