Boom! Storm Distance Measured by Lightening and Thunder

Can You Determine Storm Distance from Lightning and Thunder?

Have you ever watched the old movie Poltergeist where the little girl was counting seconds in between the thunder and lightning? As a child this was an iconic moment of learning and being scared all wrapped up into one, but was there truth to this part of the story? Dr. Aaron Workman, a team member of one of the highest rated car accident medical care facilities in Kentucky, discusses thunder and lightning and whether it can also be used as a simple way to estimate how far away a storm is.

How Lightning and Thunder Work Together:

Lightning and thunder are two natural events that always come together for excitement during a thunderstorm. Lightening is an intense electrical discharge that happens when positive and negative charges in the atmosphere build up and are suddenly released. This flash of light travels at the speed of light, approximately 186,000 miles per second, which is why we see lightning almost instantly when it strikes.

Thunder is the sound caused by the rapid expansion of air surrounding the lightning bolt. When lightning strikes, it heats the air to extremely high temperatures, causing it to expand rapidly and create a shockwave that we hear as a big boom of thunder. Sound waves travel much slower than light, about 1,125 feet per second, (or roughly one mile every five seconds).  This is the reason you see lightning before you hear thunder.

Counting Seconds to Measure Distance:

To estimate how far away a storm is, you can use a simple method involving the difference between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder. Since light travels almost instantly to your eyes and sound takes longer to reach your ears, you can count the seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder to determine the storm’s distance.  As soon as you see a lightning flash, start counting seconds. You can use the one Mississippi, two Mississippi method we are all familiar with. Now, stop counting as soon as you hear the thunder. Divide however many seconds you just counted by 5 to determine how many miles away it is. For example, if you count 10 seconds between the lightning and thunder, the storm is approximately 2 miles away (10 ÷ 5 = 2). For every five seconds that pass between the flash and the boom, the storm is about a mile away.

This method gives you a good estimate of how far away the storm is. The greater the number of seconds between the lightning and thunder, the farther away the storm is from your location. You can also use this to determine whether the storm is moving towards or away from you. If the time between lightning and thunder is less than five seconds, the storm is extremely close, and you should take shelter.

Understanding how far away a storm is can be very helpful for staying safe during severe weather. It will help you avoid conditions such as heavy rain, strong winds, hail, and tornadoes. If you know the storm is close, you can take the necessary precautions, such as seeking shelter indoors, avoiding possible flying debris, and staying away from windows. Using the time between lightning and thunder to estimate storm distance is a simple way to estimate its proximity and may end up being a lifesaving calculation.

— This article is written by Aaron Workman, DC, one of the members of Chambers Medical Group’s team of car accident chiropractors who offer a variety of treatments and therapies ranging from diagnostic testing to various soft tissue therapies for car accidents and injuries in Kentucky.

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