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 .
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.
How fast is thunder per second?
Thunder travels at the speed of sound and has a value of about 340 meters per second . The speed of sound in air at sea level moves about 1 mile every 5 seconds. Thus, when you see the lightning count the seconds and divide by 5 to get the approximate distance that the sound of thunder originates from.
How fast is thunder in mph?
The return stroke (the current that cause the visible flash) moves upward at a speed of about 320,000,000 ft per second or about 220,000,000 miles per hour (about 1/3 the speed of light). In comparison, the sound of thunder travels at about 1100 ft per second or about 750 miles per hour .
Does counting seconds after lightning work?
A general rule of thumb to know how far off a bolt of lightning is when you hear thunder, if you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you'll get the distance in miles to the lightning : 5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = very close.
Does thunder travel a mile a second?
Thunder travels much slower, at the speed of sound, about 1088 feet per second. It takes sound about 5 seconds to travel one mile .
Is it OK to have your AC on during thunderstorm?
Operating your air conditioner during a thunderstorm can lead to some damage to your unit, so it's best to shut it down when the weather starts acting up . Luckily, humidity and temperature drops when storms roll in, so you'll get some relief even though your air conditioner is not in use.
How many seconds is thunder after lightning?
Since you see lightning immediately and it takes the sound of thunder about 5 seconds to travel a mile, you can calculate the distance between you and the lightning.
How Close Can lightning be to shake a house?
yourself , but your home is always at risk, even if a strike is a mile away. In fact, Richard Kithil of the National Lightning Safety Institute says indirect lightning strikes are 2000 times more likely to cause “mischief” than a direct strike.
How fast can lightning travel?
While the flashes we see as a result of a lightning strike travel at the speed of light (670,000,000 mph) an actual lightning strike travels at a comparatively gentle 270,000 mph .
How many miles per second does lightning travel?
When lightning strikes, a bright flash of light is generated. Light travels at a constant 186,000 miles/second , which means that we see the flash immediately as it happens.
How long for the thunder to be heard if it strikes 12 km away from your location?
After you see a flash of lightning, count the number of seconds until you hear the thunder. (Use the stop watch or count “One-Mississippi, Two-Mississippi, Three-Mississippi,” etc.) For every 5 seconds the storm is one mile away . Divide the number of seconds you count by 5 to get the number of miles.
Is lightning faster than a bullet?
That is faster than a bullet fired from an assault rifle- 1000 metres per second . A natural disaster poses serious risks to your life, liberty and limb.
Whats faster sound or lightning?
Lightning and thunder happen at the same time. But you see lightning before you hear thunder because light, which travels a million times faster than sound , arrives almost instantly. Sound, on the other hand, takes about five seconds to travel one mile.
What's faster light or lightning?
Comparing it with the average lightning speed, Light is ~ 675.45 times faster .
Can there be 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.
How far away can lightning be seen?
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 comes first thunder or 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. We can estimate the distance of the lightning by counting how many seconds it takes until we hear the thunder. It takes approximately 5 seconds for the sound to travel 1 mile.
How many seconds is a mile in thunder?
So sound travels 1 kilometer in roughly 3 seconds and 1 mile in roughly 5 seconds . When you see the flash of a lightning bolt, you can start counting seconds and then divide to see how far away the lightning struck.
Is lightning hotter than the sun?
In fact, lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit ( 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun ). When lightning strikes a tree, the heat vaporizes any water in its path possibly causing the tree to explode or a strip of bark to be blown off.
Does AC attract lightning?
Today, one of the most trusted local HVAC companies, Stone Heating and Air, explains why you should turn off your air conditioner during a thunderstorm. While there's only a small possibility that lightning will strike your home, it can cause a huge power surge through your electrical system if it does happen.
Is it OK to run window AC while it's raining?
Rain does not affect your window air conditioner . It won't damage it or change the performance. The electrical components in an AC are sealed, keeping them from water damage. The only real risk to an AC is standing water, such as in a flood.
Can we run AC while raining?
Can I Turn On The AC If It's Raining? Rain alone will not harm your air conditioner . In fact, turning the system on during warm, rainy days can make your home feel much more comfortable. The only time you would need to be concerned is if the rain was severe enough to leave standing water around the unit.
How far away can thunder be heard?
Thunder can be heard up to 25 miles away, and lightning strikes have been documented to occur as far as 25 miles from thunderstorms – known as a “bolt from the blue.” So if you can hear thunder, you're close enough to be hit by lightning, and sheltering indoors or in an enclosed car is your safest bet.
Why does thunder make noise?
Thunder is produced by lightning. A lightning bolt heats the air through which it travels to about 50,000 degrees. This rapid heating, followed by rapid cooling, creates sound waves which, when they reach our ears, we hear as thunder.
How loud is lightning right next to you?
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. By comparison, sitting in front of speakers at a rock concert can expose you to a continuous 120+ dB level.
