Dear All,
A few nights ago we had a really active thunderstorm in Geelong that lasted
for several hours. The noise kept me awake so I began doing the old 'see the
lightning, count the seconds, to find the distance of the storm', using this
'Rule of thumb'.
Thunder and lightning: � Sound travels at about 340 metres per second or
roughly 1 kilometre in 3 seconds. When you see lightning, start counting
'one second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds' etc; stop counting
when you hear the thunder. Divide the seconds by three to find out how far
you are from the storm. For example, if the sound of the thunder takes six
seconds to reach you the storm is 2 km away. Repeat this procedure to see if
the storm is moving toward you or away from you.
This filled the sleepless hours conveniently but as each storm receded, I
began to wonder how far away we can hear thunder. I was fairly confident
that I could hear thunder after 21 seconds (about 7 km) but not after 24
seconds (about 8 km).
Does anyone know of any definitive research in this area about how far away
a storm can be heard?
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
CAMS - Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist
- United States Metric Association
ASM - Accredited Speaking Member
- National Speakers Association of Australia
Member, International Federation for Professional Speakers
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