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The temperature of the air in the lightning channel may reach as high as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. Immediately after the flash, the air cools and contracts quickly. This rapid expansion and contraction creates the sound wave that we hear as thunder.
What causes the noise thunder makes?
The loud thunder that follows the lightning bolt is commonly said to come from the bolt itself. However, the grumbles and growls we hear in thunderstorms actually come from the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the lightning bolt. As the heated air expands, the pressure drops, the air cools, and it contracts.
What is the sound of thunder?
At large distances from the center, the shock wave (thunder) can be many miles across. The shock wave is greatly elongated. To the listener, it is the combination of the millions of shock waves that gives thunder the continuous booming/rumbling sound we hear.
Why does thunder shake the 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).
Why can I hear thunder without lightning?
No, it is not possible to have thunder without lightning. Thunder starts as a shockwave from the explosively expanding lightning channel when a large current causes rapid heating. However, it is possible that you might see lightning and not hear the thunder because it was too far away. Thunder is caused by lightning.
Why does thunder sound like a bomb?
The sound originates at the lightning. The superheated air rapidly expands and then collapses back into itself, that rapid expansion and collapse is the source of the sound. If that happened at one spot, then all the sound would reach your ears at the same time and you would hear a single explosion.
How loud is a thunder?
The loudness of thunder can be expressed in decibels (dB). 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.
Is thunder caused by sonic boom?
This is often called “breaking the sound barrier.” The visible part of a sonic boom is actually air that becomes squashed by sound waves. The thunder that a storm makes is also a sonic boom caused by lightning forcing air to move faster than the speed of sound.
Should I unplug stuff during a storm?
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.
Is it safe to use the toilet during a thunderstorm?
No. Lightning can travel through plumbing. It is best to avoid all water during a lightning storm.
Can thunder crack windows?
Glass is a good insulator, so it is very unlikely that a window pane would ever be struck directly. But a lightning strike on the roof of a house will travel down through the building through the most conductive route available. This could also shatter a window if it was close enough.
What does it mean when there’s thunder but no rain?
Dry thunderstorm refers to thunder and lightning that occur without bringing rain to the ground. In fact, the thunder-bearing clouds do produce rain but the rain droplets have evaporated in the air before reaching the ground. The anvil cloud is so high that rain coming from it evaporates before reaching the ground.
How far away can you hear thunder?
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!.
When you hear thunder What should you do?
If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you. When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up. Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.
What was the loudest thunder ever recorded?
The explosion was loud enough that this level of noise was recorded many miles away from the site of the blast. A sound of 174 decibels was recorded by barometers 100 miles from Krakatoa. That meant anyone within an 100 mile radius of Krakatoa had a chance of being literally deafened by this sound.
Can thunder damage your house?
When you hear thunder, you know there is lightning. If lightning strikes your house, it might not catch fire, but it can damage the electrical components of your house which can start a fire. It can also damage roof shingles, chimneys, and more.
Why does thunder sound louder than usual?
The louder-than-normal thunder are common in Elevated Thunderstorms. These storms start to rise from the warm, muggy air above the ground. However, because of the temperature inversion air warming as you go up, in Elevated storms, the sound waves are trapped near the ground or get bent back toward earth or refracted.
Does lightning itself make a sound?
Yes. The sound the lightning itself makes is called thunder. Well in a vacuum, there is no sound, but normally lightning happens in the atmosphere and it does make a sound, it’s called thunder!.
Is thunder an energy?
An average bolt of lightning, striking from cloud to ground, contains roughly one billion (1,000,000,000) joules of energy. In the forms of electricity, light, heat and thunder, this energy is all released by the flash in a matter of milli- or even microseconds.
