then the lightning is 2.78 miles away from you.
If you hear the thunder almost at the same time as the lightning flash - the storm is directly overhead. Usually - the sound of thunder arrives a few seconds after the lightning, because light travels much faster than sound.
the lightning is roughly a mile away
You don't see thunder. You hear thunder. You hear thunder after seeing the lightning because light travels faster than sound. The further the storm away is, the bigger the time between when you see the lightning and hear the thunder.
5 miles away
No, the two are quite different. The main difference is lightning is light, thunder is sound. Lightning is an electric charge that can come from a cloud for various reasons. Thunder is the sound made by lightning. Since sound travels slower than light, lightning comes first, thunder second.
If you hear the thunder almost at the same time as the lightning flash - the storm is directly overhead. Usually - the sound of thunder arrives a few seconds after the lightning, because light travels much faster than sound.
the lightning is roughly a mile away
You don't see thunder. You hear thunder. You hear thunder after seeing the lightning because light travels faster than sound. The further the storm away is, the bigger the time between when you see the lightning and hear the thunder.
A lightning flash travels at the speed of light. The sound of thunder travels much slower. Therefore, we see the flash before we hear the thunder.
The thunder is the sound of lightning but you only hear the thunder after the flash because lightning is faster than the speed of sound.
To estimate your distance from a thunderstorm count the number of seconds between a flash of lightning and the next clap of thunder. Divide your answer by 5. See the related link below.
If you hear the thunder almost at the same time as the lightning flash - the storm is directly overhead. Usually - the sound of thunder arrives a few seconds after the lightning, because light travels much faster than sound.
5 miles away
In simple terms... light travels much faster than sound. We see the lightning flash first, followed by the sound when it finally reaches us
A typical lightning strike lasts for about 0.2 to 0.3 seconds.
Light travels much faster than sound. You will see a flash of lightning, and then hear the thunder some seconds later. I was once told that if I see a flash and then count in seconds. If the thunder is heard 5 seconds later, the storm is a mile away.
Light travels faster than sound.