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Weatherwatch: how thunder is made

The Guardian Environment Friday 03 July 2026, 05:00 UTC By David Hambling 1 min read
Key Points

Sound of thunder varies depending on distance of listener from lightning as atmosphere muffles and absorbs sound A bolt of lightning heats the air almost instantly to as high as 30,000C, causing explosive expansion and a supersonic shock wave that becomes thunder. What that thunder sounds like to a listener depends largely on where they are. Nearby lightning produces a distinctive snap or crack, or a startling explosive boom.

Sound of thunder varies depending on distance of listener from lightning as atmosphere muffles and absorbs sound

A bolt of lightning heats the air almost instantly to as high as 30,000C, causing explosive expansion and a supersonic shock wave that becomes thunder. What that thunder sounds like to a listener depends largely on where they are.

Nearby lightning produces a distinctive snap or crack, or a startling explosive boom. Large, complex lightning with multiple segments generates a peal of thunder, a series of booms of different pitches as the sound from each of the segments reaches you in turn.

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Originally published by The Guardian Environment Read original →

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