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Spectacular lightening storm but no thunder

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  • 14-08-2013 4:56am
    #1
    Persiancowboy
    Registered Users Posts: 354 ✭✭


    Some guidance from you experts please! Currently in Orlando area of Florida and for past hour have been outside watching the most amazing lightening I have ever seen. Strange thing is not only is there no rain, there isn't a single rumble of thunder to be heard either. It's been oppressively hot here for past few days ( even by local standards) and tonight is extremely muggy.

    Can the absence of thunder be attributed soley to distance or are there other factors at play? The lightening is literally lighting up the whole sky and there are multip simultaneous bolts happening pretty constantly. Just curious about absence of thunder. Thanks....


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    #2
    Hammer Archer
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 11,396 Mod ✭✭✭✭Hammer Archer


    Simply the distance between yourself and the storm. The sound of the thunder dissipates before it gets to you.

    When lightning strikes, the temperature and pressure around it massively increases and causes the air to expand extremely quickly creating a shockwave which is heard as thunder. So (as far as I know), it's not possible to have lightning without thunder.

    By the way, I'm incredibly jealous.


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    #3
    DOCARCH
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 17,800 Mod ✭✭✭✭DOCARCH


    Hammer Archer wrote: »
    By the way, I'm incredibly jealous.

    + 1 on that! Was on holidays there myself a couple of years ago (and also spent a week in St Petersburg). The storms were brilliant! :)

    Another small factor is the fact that sound travels further in colder air than warmer air, so if it is very warm/hot, the sound of the thunder will not travel/radiate out from the lightning strike as far as it might (in colder air/a colder climate).


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    #4
    MrDerp
    Registered Users Posts: 990 ✭✭✭MrDerp


    The storms there are pretty epic. Was there for a week a few years back and saw lightening pretty much every night. You'd turn on the weather channel and see the storms building and building from about 5pm onwards.

    Downside was it was often accompanied by news stories the following day about someones house burning down due to a strike.


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    #5
    Popoutman
    Registered Users Posts: 1,363 ✭✭✭Popoutman


    Colder weather will usually have a much colder air layer by the ground, refracting sound down to the ground that would otherwise dissipate up into the atmosphere. The usual direct path of sound would be pretty much the same dissipation rate. That's the main reason why sounds appear to sound louder during the cold weather - we hear a sound path that isn't being absorbed by trees, grass etc.


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    #6
    endacl
    Registered Users Posts: 22,253 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    Hammer Archer wrote: »
    By the way, I'm incredibly jealous.
    DOCARCH wrote: »
    + 1 on that!

    Found the perfect holiday destination for ye!



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    #7
    Bejubby
    Closed Accounts Posts: 270 ✭✭Bejubby


    I came acrossthat last year in lake garda.
    No thunder at all but I saw loads off forked lightening.

    I thoughtthunder was the lightening strikes itsuper heats the air and causes a vacuum ,then the air rushes back into the vacuum when the strike dissipates causing the bang?


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    #8
    riffmongous
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 12,669 Mod ✭✭✭✭riffmongous


    Popoutman wrote: »
    Colder weather will usually have a much colder air layer by the ground, refracting sound down to the ground that would otherwise dissipate up into the atmosphere. The usual direct path of sound would be pretty much the same dissipation rate. That's the main reason why sounds appear to sound louder during the cold weather - we hear a sound path that isn't being absorbed by trees, grass etc.

    That sounds plausible.. I know here in Vienna I see lots of strikes in the summer that I would expect a big clap of thunder from and yet nothing..


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