Why do i hear thunder but see no lightning?

Question

im inside my house and its raining and i hear thunder but then it stops. like a half and hour later it is still dark and i hear a lot of big rumbles of thunder but i see absolutely no lightning and im looking EVERYWHERE outside. why is that?

Answer 1

isn't there that rule of thumb that thunder comes BEFORE lightning??

+there doesn't neccesarily have to be lightning when theres thunder.

(:

Answer 2

Thunder is the sound lightning makes, if there's thunder, there HAS to be lightning (though not necessarily the other way around).

Sound can travel through and around solid objects, whereas light cannot. Therefore, it's possible that there is an object obscuring your view of the lightning (like a building or a cloud). The object doesn't have to be very tall either, since a bolt in the distance (so that it is very short) can still be heard, as sound travels fairly efficiently through the ground.

The other possibility is that something else is making a sound similar to thunder. For example, certain trucks make a sound which is almost identical to thunder as they pass over a bumpy road.

Answer 3

Thunder doesn't mean that there will be lightning, it's just a possibility.

Answer 4

Lightening  is electricity Thunder is more rumbling due to clashing. Though it is true that generally we see them around same time, It is not necessary that they occur as a package. They could happen independently.

Answer 5

the lighting is to far away to see. thunder is the echoing sound of lightning

Answer 6

light travel faster than sound, and prob you have lowers clouds

Answer 7

Thunder and lightning are different. It's because its a going to be a thunder storm not lightning. They can appear in the same storm when it's a thunder/lightning storm. NO DURR

Answer 8

Just because there's thunder doesn't nessecarily mean there is/will be lightening.

Answer 9

idk im wondering the same thing mabey you should go to www.ask.com and check it out

Answer 10

i hate to correct, but 'i hate that i love you' , thunder is the sound lightning makes. but to answer your question. it's kinda like fireworks. you might not be able to see , but if you hear it you know it's there

Answer 11

it's probably cloud-to-cloud lightening, which you wouldn't necessarily see but can hear the resulting thunder.  There always has to be lightening when there is thunder.