The reason we see a flash of lightning before hearing thunder is because light travels faster than sound. The speed of light depends on what it is moving through – being slow in gases, fast in liquids, and even quicker in solids. In the air, sound travels at around 332 metres per second.
Typically, a sharp crack or click will indicate that the lightning channel passed nearby. If the thunder sounds more like a rumble, the lightning was at least several miles away.
Why does Lightning make a loud noise?
Since lightning is also very hot (up to 6 times hotter than the surface of the sun!), it makes the air around it expand very quickly, which creates more vibrations as the particles get pushed. All those vibrations can make a big boom, which you hear as thunder.
You could be asking “What is the sound of lightning called?”
My answer is thunder is the sound caused by a nearby flash of lightning and can be heard for a distance of only about 10 miles from the lightning strike. The sound of thunder should serve as a warning to anyone outside that they are within striking distance of the storm and need to get to a safe place immediately!
When lightning strikes, it causes the particles in the air all around it to vibrate. Since lightning is also very hot (up to 6 times hotter than the surface of the sun!), it makes the air around it expand very quickly, which creates more vibrations as the particles get pushed.
You could be asking “What is the difference between Thunder and lightning?”
One answer was thunder and lightning all occur due to the release of energy – thunder is a soundwave, and lightning is the emission of electromagnetic energy . The reason we see a flash of lightning before hearing thunder is because light travels faster than sound.
How far away can lightning be from you?
So, if we were to count 30 seconds, the lightning would be around 6 miles away. If you hear thunder, you are already within the area where next ground flashes could happen, as lightning can strike as far away as 10 miles from the centre of a thunderstorm, according to the Met Office.
Lightning travels at a speed of 300,000,000 meters per second, which is about 186,000 miles per second. The speed of sound, in dry air, is about 1 mile every 5 seconds.