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Thunder is the sound caused by a nearby flash of lightning and can be heard for a distance of only about 10 miles from the lightning strike. The sound of thunder should serve as a warning to anyone outside that they are within striking distance of the storm and need to get to a safe place immediately!.
How far away can you see lightning?
‘ All lightning comes from a thunderstorm, but you can see that lightning many miles away from a storm when the sky is clear (clear away from the storm, of course). How far? Depending on visibility conditions, you can see lightning from as far as 150 to 200 miles away on a dark summer night.
What is the 30 30 rule for lightning?
Don’t forget the 30-30 rule. After you see lightning, start counting to 30. If you hear thunder before you reach 30, go indoors. Suspend activities for at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder.
What does it mean if you see lightning and hear thunder at the same time?
The rapid expansion of heated air causes the thunder. Since light travels faster than sound, the thunder is heard after the lightning. If you see lightning and hear thunder at the same time, that lightning is in your neighborhood. Lightning from this area is called positive lightning.
How do you know if lightning is close?
Audible thunder. Thunder is the sound created by lightning, so if thunder can be heard, lightning is near. You can determine how near (in miles) by counting the number of seconds between a flash of lightning and a thunderclap and dividing that number by five.
What does it sound like when lightning hits your house?
You will hear a loud and powerful “boom” like you would with most lightning strikes, but this one will be memorable and will shake your home. If your house or yard was hit, there may be a continuous buzzing or hissing sound following the strike. These can damage wiring and appliances in your home.
Is it OK to have your AC on during thunderstorm?
Though it’s tempting to rely on your air conditioner, you shouldn’t run your unit during a thunderstorm. Not only does running your AC during a storm put your system at risk, but it can also put your safety at risk.
Should I unplug electronics during a thunderstorm?
Keep Your Computer Plugged In Anything that’s plugged into an outlet in your home is at risk of suffering damage from an electrical surge during thunderstorms. If an electrical storm has been forecast, unplug your computer, laptop, and other devices, and consider unplugging appliances.
Can lightning strike you on your porch?
On a covered porch Covered shelters are fine for protection against rain but they don’t protect against lightning strikes. Any shelter that isn’t fully enclosed, with a roof, walls and a floor, isn’t a safe place to be during a lightning storm.
Can you hear lightning crack?
Typically, a sharp crack or click will indicate that the lightning channel passed nearby. If the thunder sounds more like a rumble, the lightning was at least several miles away. The loud boom that you sometimes hear is created by the main lightning channel as it reaches the ground.
How loud is lightning close up?
A clap of thunder typically registers at about 120 dB in close proximity to the ground stroke. This is 10 times louder than a garbage truck or pneumatic jackhammer drill.
Can thunder crack the ground?
Depending on their intensity and proximity, however, the shock waves we call thunder can be extremely destructive, causing structural degradation and cracking in concrete, brick, cinderblock, and stone.
Can you smell lightning?
Even if there’s barely any lightning, there are still trace amounts of lightning-produced ozone and nitrogen dioxide in the air scattered about the storm. When the gust front of a storm carries it out ahead of the rain, you can smell it before it’s “scavenged” to the ground. You may just be smelling lightning.
How do you detect lightning?
A lightning detector is a device that detects lightning produced by thunderstorms. There are three primary types of detectors: ground-based systems using multiple antennas, mobile systems using a direction and a sense antenna in the same location (often aboard an aircraft), and space-based systems.
Does lightning leave a mark on the ground?
Lightning strikes often leave marks on the ground indicating where the strike has hit and the directions the bolt has dissipated in. Craters or trenches are sometimes created in sand, soil, or asphalt as moisture is explosively vaporized by the intense heat of the lightning discharge.
How rare is it for your house to get struck by lightning?
About 1 in 200 houses are struck by lightning every year. Various factors can affect your level of risk, including whether there are higher structures nearby (metal light poles can have a protective effect), the local climate, etc.
What does it mean when thunder shakes your house?
Why does the house shake when there is a thunder storm? Your house will shake depending the closeness of the lightning. Thunder is a sonic boom that comes from the rapid heating of the air around a lightning strike. Sonic booms cause massive shaking to nearby objects (your house).
How does it feel to get struck by lightning?
But they could suffer a variety of short- and long-term effects. The list is lengthy and daunting: cardiac arrest, confusion, seizures, dizziness, muscle aches, deafness, headaches, memory deficits, distractibility, personality changes and chronic pain, among others.
