With all the storms in the weekend forecast, why not talk about
lightning and thunder? Local WCCO-TV news ran a story on this
yesterday, but in my humble opinion, it didn’t tell us much.
Some of it even missed the mark. So here we go! The question was
asked: Why does thunder crack and sometimes roll? Many reasons
determine the sound of thunder. Distance is a key component. As
the sound waves from thunder travel toward you, they travel
through different densities of air, different temperatures, and
fade. Lower tones travel the farthest. You tend to hear the low
rumble of distant thunder, therefore. Also the length of a
lightning bolt affects the sound you hear. All thunder is the
result of lightning and some lightning can travel over 60 miles.
You literally hear different parts of the lightning bolt at
different times. This can also give thunder and rumbling,
rolling sound. Different parts of the sound travels through
different densities of air, for example. Where you are in the
storm matters, too. Generally w