Is there any truth in the time between lightning and thunder relating to the distance for the storm?

Question

Eg: counting 5 seconds means the storm is 5 miles away.

I suspect not but could not find any definative answer.

Answer 1

Yes, your example is correct but it has a reason, too!

The reason to this phenomenon is that light travels faster than sound.

The speed(here speed means velocity) of light is (3 * 10^8)m/s but that of sound is 340m/s at room temperature.

Therefore, though lightning and thunder occur simultaneously, we see the flash of lightning from the clouds before the thunder is heard.

Answer 2

yes. it takes sound about 5 seconds to travel 1 mile (at 333 meters per second, it travels 1665 metres which is just over a mile.

Answer 3

We see the flash courtesy of the speed of light, which is about 186,000 miles/second.

We hear the bang via the speed of sound, which is only about 341 metres/second - much, much slower - hence the lag.

Avoiding complicated maths, when you see the lightning start counting seconds (one mississippi, two mississippi...). Stop counting when you hear the thunder. Now, take the number of seconds you counted and divide by 5. The result is the number of miles to the storm. Thunder travels at about 5 seconds per mile.

If you hear a loud snap followed immediately by either nothing or thunder, hide under your bed. The storm is exactly where you are standing. (Note interesting ozone smell.)

Answer 4

it is actually partially true the time between the flash and the bang is due to the distance they are not seperate events they happen at the same time its just because you can see the lightning because visually it travels at the speed of light whereas the thunder travels to your ears at the speed of sound

Answer 5

Yes, because light travels at 186000 miles per second, so the flash will meet you eye viryually instantly.

Sound travels at 700 miles per hour (just a bit faster than your average jumbo jet at full tilt) and so the thunder will reach your ears afterwards. If it takes 10 seconds to hear the thunder after you see the flash then the storm is 2 miles away - I think.

Answer 6

You are right about there being a relation between lightning and thunder relating to the distance, but you have it a bit fast.

Sound travels at closer to 1mile every 5 seconds.

So counting 5 seconds means that the lightning bolt was only 1 mile away not 5 miles!

So if you have been assuming 1mile /second the lightning is actually 5 times closer than you previously thought.

It is better to know, if only for your own curiosity.