Thunderstorms..is this true the seconds you count ...?

Question

between thunder equals the miles away that the thunder is?

Answer 1

You can tell how far away lightning is by counting the seconds between when you *see* the lightning flash and when you *hear* the thunder. Divide the number of seconds by 5 to learn how far away the lightning way. For example :: you see a flash of lightning. Ten seconds later you hear the thunder --
10 divided by 5 = 2......the lightning was two miles away.

Answer 2

No. The speed of sound is about 1100 feet per second, so the sound of the thunder takes a little less than 5 seconds to travel a mile. Divide the seconds you count after the lightning flash by 5 to get the approximate distance in miles.

Answer 3

From The National Weather Service Jetstream Online School For Weather

Sound travels roughly 750 mph (1200 km/h), or approximately one mile every 5 seconds (one kilometer every 3 seconds). The speed actually varies greatly with the temperature, but the thumb rule of 5 seconds per mile is a good approximation.

to learn more about thunder go to this link
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/lightning/thunder.htm

Answer 4

It is true, but with an exception.
Sound travels 1 mile in 3 seconds.
After a flash, if there is a difference of 12 seconds, the lightning is 4 miles away.

Answer 5

yeah it is true...ive done it before and i will count each time it thundered and every time i counted the seconds the thunderstorm got closer and closer...so the less you count between the storms the closer it is

Answer 6

not necesarily. scientists only made this system so that other people without the scientific knowledge could understand.