At night, the atmosphere always cools from the ground up. This leaves a warmer layer in the upper atmosphere until the next day's sun heats the ground and then we warm from the ground up. When we have a thunderstorm at night, sound bounces off of that warm layer and has nowhere else to go but down and to our ears.
It is during the evening when the earth's surface is at its hottest after hours of direct exposure to the sun's rays. By the early evening, the warm ground begins radiating energy, producing hot air which expands and rises upwards into the atmosphere.
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.
To get to sleep you will need to drown out the crashing thunder. One method is to use earplugs. You can buy these at any pharmacy in a variety of kinds, including foam, cotton, or wax. If you don't find ear plugs comfortable enough to fall asleep, try listening to soothing music or even a white noise machine.
The inversion layer occurs when there's cold air at the surface and warm air just above; as the sound waves travel from the thunder, it will trap them at the ground. So the thunder will sound louder than normal. It does not mean the storms are stronger if the thunder is really loud.
At first, there is a sharp boundary between the initial shock wave and the air in front of it, which gives the startling boom of thunder. If you are close enough to experience that boundary, your house will certainly shake.
Even if you aren't feeling anything electrical, you may be able to hear a buzzing, cracking, or vibrating in the metallic objects near you. Under no circumstances should you try to touch these objects. Make sure you stay far away, because electricity can arc towards you even if you aren't touching the items.
If you are inside during a thunderstorm, you're already pretty safe. Make sure that if the storm is severe, with high winds and a lot of lightning, to stay away from windows. It's often good to go to a low place or room without windows like a basement. Do not take showers and avoid using appliances like the phone.
Create a thunderstorm plan
Identify a comfortable and fun place in the house to go to during non-emergent storms that is relaxing and positive; finding a place away from windows, and the sights and sounds of the storm is often helpful.
Thunderstorms typically do not last very long and will most often pass by your location in less than one hour. The best defense against thunderstorms is to stay inside a sturdy, substantial building that can protect you from lightning, hail, damaging wind, heavy rain, and tornadoes.
Consequences. The shock wave in thunder is sufficient to cause property damage and injury, such as internal contusion, to individuals nearby. Thunder can rupture the eardrums of people nearby, leading to permanently impaired hearing. Even if not, it can lead to temporary deafness.
Astraphobia is an intense fear of thunder and lightning. The phobia is more common in children, but it can last into adulthood. Astraphobia often also affects animals. People with astraphobia feel extreme anxiety or debilitating fear when preparing for a thunderstorm.
The faster they are heated, the faster their rate of expansion. But when air is heated to 54,000°F in a fraction of a second, a phenomenon known as "explosive expansion" occurs. This is where air expands so rapidly that it compresses the air in front of it, forming a shock wave similar to a sonic boom.
"The result is a shock wave that creates a sonic boom --like a jet exceeding the speed of sound – which can reverberate off of the ground and buildings. All of that energy can't just stop as soon as it hits something, so it will transfer into those objects and cause rumbling and shaking."
The safest location during a thunderstorm is inside a large enclosed structure with plumbing and electrical wiring. These include shopping centers, schools, office buildings, and private residences.
A very strong compression wave results from the electric discharge, usually from air to ground. This compression wave impacts the ground and that causes the ground to absorb energy and that causes the shaking.
Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches. Do NOT lie on concrete floors or lean on concrete walls during a thunderstorm. Lightning can travel through any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring. Don't use corded phones.
Avoid open vehicles such as convertibles, motorcycles, and golf carts. Avoid open structures such as porches, gazebos, baseball dugouts, and sports arenas. These structures won't protect you from lightning. Stay away from open spaces such as golf courses, parks, playgrounds, ponds, lakes, swimming pools, and beaches.
Pilots avoid flying during thunderstorms if possible. Aircraft have a weather radar, which allows pilots to avoid possible thunderclouds along the flight route.
No. Lightning can travel through plumbing. It is best to avoid all water during a thunderstorm.
Stay inside a safe building or vehicle for at least 30 minutes after you hear the last thunder. While 30 minutes may seem like a long time, it is necessary to be safe.
Lightning is a dangerous yet often-overlooked weather phenomenon. Statistically, chances that someone is struck and killed by lightning is 1 in 1.9 million. For homes, the number is a surprising 1 in 200.
So, what's going on here? An electric charge builds up as part of a "positive lightning strike." The charge is what makes your hair stand up. You may not think you're in trouble if the storm looks to still be off in the distance. But that electric charge is a sure sign that you should get inside as quickly as possible.
Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is the place on Earth that receives the most lightning strikes. Massive thunderstorms occur on 140-160 nights per year with an average of 28 lightning strikes per minute lasting up to 10 hours at a time. That's as many as 40,000 lightning strikes in one night!