It nearly always seems to rain harder for a few minutes after a fairly local lightning strike or after a particularly loud clap of thunder. Could this be due to the shockwave propogating through the air and rain mixture as a moving density wave or is it an effect on clouds holding the rain? It's something I've wondered about for years...
2006-07-04 08:13:55 · 6 answers · asked by Neil H 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
Correct, sound waves effectively shake water droplets out of cloud masses.
2006-07-04 08:17:24 · answer #1 · answered by reality check 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I have never noticed that myself. But if you are somewhere close to the lightning (and so that the thunder seems particularly loud) then it might make sense that you are close to an intense part of a thundershower so maybe it might be raining hard there for a minute or two before the thunder cloud moves on to a different location
2006-07-04 09:51:27 · answer #2 · answered by tru tru tru 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Reverse your train of thought! The lightning resides in the strongest section of the thunder storm resulting in the heaviest rain fall due to the molecular structure of the storm at that point!
2006-07-04 08:20:38 · answer #3 · answered by rookie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
mama used to say that thunder was the sound god made when he passed a kidney stone, lightening is the brief blood squirted out and then the hard rain following is what was backed up behind the stone.
2006-07-04 08:16:22 · answer #4 · answered by hectortuba 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because your looking up to see the next lighting bolt and you are getting more rain on your face.
2006-07-04 09:05:46 · answer #5 · answered by ianc555 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
lthunders sound waves knock the crap out of the dust particals knocking off the water
2006-07-10 12:50:21 · answer #6 · answered by kickflip 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋