How can you tell how far a storm is?

Question

u count something right...

and then lighting means something...

Answer 1

When you see lightning, you are supposed to count (seconds) until you hear thunder.  The number of seconds between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder is supposed to be the number of miles away the storm is.  I guess the center of the storm?  Frankly, I've never really known if this is true or another old wives' tale.  I figure if I can see it and hear it, I'm in it and should take the necessary precautions.

Answer 2

Since light goes so fast, we essentially see lightning instantaneously.  The sound of thunder, however, takes about 5 seconds to go one mile.  So, to figure out how far away in miles the lightning happened, count the number of seconds from the lightning flash and divide by 5.

5 seconds = 1 mile

10 seconds = 2 miles

12 seconds = 2.4 miles, and so on