An MLive reader has a question about why the thunder earlier this week was so loud and lasted a long time. There are two valid reasons. Elizabeth emailed me asking, “A couple days ago the storms we ...

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Have you ever wondered why thunder can have different sounds? A crack versus a rumble? Startlingly loud versus calmingly low? Let’s dive in … The basics: what is thunder? Electrical ...

Thunder is produced by lightning. A lightning bolt heats the air through which it travels to about 50,000 degrees. This rapid heating, followed by rapid cooling, creates sound waves which, when they ...

All gases expand when the temperature increases, so when lightning superheats the air at just a fraction of a second, the air expands so rapidly that it compresses the air in front of it. Thunder is ...