Why did the 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.

Why do you always hear the boom of thunder after you see the flash of lightning?

Immediately after the flash, the air cools and contracts quickly. This rapid expansion and contraction creates the sound wave that we hear as thunder. 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.

Why does thunder make the ground shake?

During the thunder there is a very loud noise produced,its dominant frequency is in the 100 Hz range. The loud sound produces shock waves. This waves propagates forward with decreasing energy. This waves causes vibration in all the objects which comes in its range.

Why does distant thunder sound like a rumble?

High pitch booms come from nearby lightning but distant thunder sounds deeper with lower rumbles. Because of air density dampens out higher frequencies, your ears only hear the lower frequencies propagating through the air. Longer rumbles come from lengthy bolts in the sky over several miles long.

What is the sound of thunder called?

Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. In turn, this expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave, often referred to as a “thunderclap” or “peal of thunder”.

Why do we hear thunder a few seconds after lightning?

Answer: The speed of sound (344 m/s) is very less than the speed of light(3 x 108 m/s). The Sound of thunder takes more time to reach the surface of Earth as compared to light. Hence, a flash is seen before we hear a thunder.

Can thunder knock down a house?

Lightning is a very dangerous force that, yes, can even reach you indoors if you’re in contact with the telephone or plumbing. Lightning has the ability to strike a house or near a house and impart an electrical charge to the metal pipes used for plumbing.

Why does thunder make different sounds?

The sound of thunder will also sound different depending on whether the channel of lightning is associated with cloud to cloud lightning overhead (parallel) or cloud to ground lightning to the side of you (perpendicular). A sound commonly associated with thunder is the clap.

What different thunder sounds mean?

The sound of thunder changes with distance from the lightning channel that produce it. The loud crack sound indicates the lightning channel is nearby. And you may hear rumbles after the initial crack and the air continues to vibrate from a more distant portion of the strike.

Can Thunder break a window?

Windows are hazardous for two reasons: wind generated during a thunderstorm can blow objects into the window, breaking it and causing glass to shatter and second, in older homes, in rare instances, lightning can come in cracks in the sides of windows.

Why do thunderstorms sound like they are about to explode?

These two things will cause some compressions waves to arrive at the same time which is why the thunder might get loud, then soften a bit, then get loud again (the rumbling we hear). If you have had a lightning bolt crash down really close to you, the thunder doesn’t rumble as much and sounds more like an explosion.

How far away can you hear thunder?

Thunder can be heard from a maximum distance of about 10 miles (16 km) under good atmospheric conditions. When lightning strikes close, thunder has a loud clap or snapping sound. The rumbling we hear is the sound of thunder reaching us at different times from the sound produced along its length.

What does a vertical lightning strike sound like?

A vertical lightning strike from cloud to earth arrives at the ear as a bang. A cloud to cloud strike can sound like rolling thunder because the bang you hear comes along the length of the bolt. Sound moves at about 300 meters a second or about 1000 feet a second. That’s fairly rough, but gives you an idea of the speed.

What time of day are thunderstorms most likely to occur?

Bluestein: In the plains of the U.S. during June and July, thunderstorms most often form during the night around midnight when most people are sleeping and it is much cooler than during the day.