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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.
Why do you always hear thunder after lightning?
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.
Why does thunder come first before lightning?
If we are watching the sky, we see the lightning before we hear the thunder. That is because light travels much faster than sound waves. It takes approximately 5 seconds for the sound to travel 1 mile.
Why do we sometimes hear thunder but don’t see 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. Sometimes this is called “heat lightning” because it occurs most often in the summer.
Why is there lightning 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.
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.
How powerful is a lightning bolt?
A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps. In comparison, household current is 120 Volts and 15 Amps.
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.
Does thunder only happen when its raining?
This can occur when storm clouds form from moisture at very high levels, but as the air below is dry, rain evaporates before it falls to Earth. So thunder can happen when there’s no rain in sight!Oct 21, 2018.
Can lightning electrocute you in the ocean?
Lightning strikes are not only dangerous; they can be deadly. Lightning doesn’t strike the ocean as much as land, but when it does,it spreads out over the water, which acts as a conductor. It can hit boats that are nearby, and electrocute fish that are near the surface.
Can you survive a lightning strike?
Of every 10 people struck, nine will survive. But they could suffer a variety of short- and long-term effects: cardiac arrest, confusion, seizures, dizziness, muscle aches, deafness, headaches, memory deficits, distractibility, personality changes and chronic pain, among others.
Where does lightning strike the least?
About 70% of lightning occurs on land in the Tropics, where the majority of thunderstorms occur. The North and South Poles and the areas over the oceans have the fewest lightning strikes.
Can lightning strike a car?
A typical cloud-to-ground, actually cloud-to-vehicle, lightning strike will either strike the antenna of the vehicle or along the roofline. The lightning will then pass through the vehicle’s outer metal shell, then through the tires to the ground.
Where does lightning strike the most?
The most lightning-struck location in the world Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is the place on Earth that receives the most lightning strikes. Massive thunderstorms occur on 140-160 nights per year with an average of 28 lightning strikes per minute lasting up to 10 hours at a time.
Does lightning cause fire?
Lightning-Caused Fires: Lightning must interact with other environmental conditions before fires can result. Ignition depends upon sufficient heat production from the lightning, weather, and fuel conditions to ignite combustible materials.
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 crack windows?
The sudden heating of a metal window frame might cause enough expansion to crack the window. The accompanying thunder is caused by the shock wave from the channel of superheated plasma that the lightning bolt creates between the ground and the cloud. This could also shatter a window if it was close enough.
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.
Is there really black lightning?
Dark Lightning These terrestrial gamma rays flashes, or TGFs, are among the highest-energy light that naturally occurs on Earth, according to NASA. They’re so powerful that they can blind satellite sensors hundreds of miles away.
Why is a car the safest place to be during a thunderstorm?
Cars are safe from lightning because of the metal cage surrounding the people inside the vehicle. This may sound counter-intuitive because metal is a good conductor of electricity, but the metal cage of a car directs the lightning charge around the vehicle occupants and safely into the ground.
Is Black lightning a thing?
Scientists have just begun to understand a strange phenomenon known simply as “dark lightning“. Different from regular lightning, dark lightning is a release of high-energy gamma radiation—sources include supernovae and supermassive black holes—that is completely invisible to the human eye.
