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Answer. Thunder is caused by the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the path of a lightning bolt.
What does it mean when thunder is really loud?
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. Remember, if you can hear thunder, chances are that you’re within striking distance of the storm.
Where is the thunder coming from?
Thunder is caused by lightning. When a lightning bolt travels from the cloud to the ground it actually opens up a little hole in the air, called a channel. Once then light is gone the air collapses back in and creates a sound wave that we hear as thunder.
What causes 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.
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.
Why is thunder so loud in Florida?
Florida’s peninsula is surrounded by water that is relatively cooler than the afternoon temperatures over land. As temperatures heat up each afternoon, there is a lot of energy for thunderstorms to use up, grow tall and produce excessive lightning. Florida is not the only place with sea-breeze thunderstorms.
What are 3 facts about lightning?
33 Insane Facts About Lightning Strikes Lightning creates heat hotter than the sun. Technically, lighting itself doesn’t have a temperature. Lightning can strike the same place twice—or more! Lightning also strikes multiple places at once. Lightning bolts are not very wide. Lighting can be up to 90 miles long.
How can thunder hurt you?
The electricity that does enters a person’s body can cause devastating neurological damage, including memory loss, chronic pain and seizures in addition to the relatively superficial burns on the outside of someone’s skin.
Why does thunder last so long?
Thunder is the sound produced by the rapid heating of air by a lightning strike. Thunder lasts longer than lightning due to the time it takes for the sound to travel from different parts of the lightning channel.
Can I poop during a thunderstorm?
DO NOT POOP During A Thunderstorm. The plumbing company said this is just as rare as getting struck by lightning yourself. Do not shower, bathe, wash dishes, or wash your hands.
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.
Why do trees get hit by lightning?
WHY LIGHTNING STRIKES TREES They’re especially prone to lightning strikes because electricity seeks the path of least resistance, and the sap and moisture inside a tree make it a better conductor than the surrounding air.
Can lightning strike a phone?
Lightning can follow the wire to the handset and can injure the person using a landline. If someone is struck by lightning and they have a cell phone on them, it will usually melt or burn. People have taken that and blamed the cell phone, Jensenius said, but in reality it is unrelated.
Can you get struck by lightning?
Lightning is one of the leading causes of weather-related fatalities. But the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are only around 1 in 500,000. However, some factors can put you at greater risk for being struck.
Can lightning strike you in the shower?
Lightning can travel through plumbing. It is best to avoid all water during a lightning storm. Do not shower, bathe, wash dishes, or wash your hands.
Where is the most lightning in the world?
Lake Maracaibo, lightning capital of the world The lake attracts thousands of lightning bolts per night. Lake Maracaibo has a unique geography and climatology ideal for the development of thunderstorms. The lake holds the Guinness World Record for the place with the highest concentration of lightning.
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.
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).
What is faster than lightning?
The answer is Tachyons. They are super-charged particles that travel faster than the speed of light.
What happens when lightning strikes water?
When lightning strikes, most of electrical discharge occurs near the water’s surface. Most fish swim below the surface and are unaffected. Although scientists don’t know exactly just how deep the lightning discharge reaches in water, it’s very dangerous to be swimming or boating during a thunderstorm.
How fast is the speed of thunder?
Lightning travels at the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second. This means that you see lightning pretty much when it happens. When lightning strikes, a noise is made which we call thunder. Thunder travels much slower, at the speed of sound, about 1088 feet per second.
