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Lightning is hotter than the surface of the Sun and causes rapid heating of the air. This in turn causes the air to expand then cool & contract equally rapidly thus causing the thunder. You see the light of the flash almost instantly but the sound arrives a lot more slowly (it takes about 5 seconds for every mile distant).

A lightning bolt can be several miles long with forks going off in different directions so you hear the sound of the nearest part first followed by that from the farther away parts over the following seconds, gradually getting fainter the farther away it is. Plus the sound bounces of the clouds, surrounding terrain, buildings etc. all adding to the rumble.

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14y ago

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