Thunder rumble why

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Jet stream cirrus from space. It might be a new lightning bolt but … it could be the same bolt zigzagging closer as it travels through the sky. The closest part is that middle bang. Click here for an illustration showing how sound lags within a single lightning bolt. Thunder rumbles because lightning is not a short, contained flash. Although a lightning discharge usually strikes just one spot on the ground, it travels many miles through the air.

When you listen to thunder, you'll first hear the thunder created by that portion of the lightning channel that is nearest you.

As you continue to listen, you'll hear the sound created from the portions of the channel farther and farther away. Typically, a sharp crack or click will indicate that the lightning channel passed nearby.

If the thunder sounds more like a rumble, the lightning was at least several miles away. The loud boom that you sometimes hear is created by the main lightning channel as it reaches the ground. Since you see lightning immediately and it takes the sound of thunder about 5 seconds to travel a mile, you can calculate the distance between you and the lightning.