Thunder Storm?

Question

theres a big thunderstorm going on right now outside my house. I can't remember back to elementary school when I learned to convert lightning/thunder into distance but it is 3 to 4 seconds between the lightning and thunder. How far is that?

Answer 1

Sound travels at 1,130 ft per second.  

One mile = 5,280 ft.

5,280 / 1,130 = 4.67 seconds per mile

so about 2 miles away for every 9 seconds... or just count to 4 and estimate

3.5 seconds = about 3/4 of a mile

Answer 2

I believe every second is equal to a mile.

Answer 3

funny that you mentioned that!  Some friends and I were in the pool tonight counting the seconds... it supposibly means miles...  like 3-4 seconds between the lightning and thunder is 3-4 miles away.

Answer 4

Lol 1 mile per second is what I was taught.

Answer 5

1 miles per 3 sec

Answer 6

I was told when you see the lightning could second by second and when you hear the thunder, you take the seconds you counted and thats how many miles away it is!

Answer 7

thunder moves at the speed of sound (around 770 mph). It takes about five seconds for sound to travel a mile. Therefore, counting the seconds from the time you see the lightning until you hear the thunder and dividing by five will give you the distance of the bolt in miles  A count of 3 seconds means the bolt is 6 tenths of a mile away, and 4 seconds means the bolt is 8 tenths of a mile away.

Source:

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/wh...

Answer 8

Sound in warm air travels at approximately 740 miles per minute (or 0.2 miles per second). So, if you see the flash and then hear the crash 3 seconds later, the origin of the lightning flash is approximately 0.6 miles away from you. (4 seconds would be .8 miles away) if my math is now correct