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Calculate lightning distance from the flash-to-thunder delay using speed of sound.
A lightning distance calculator estimates how far away a lightning strike occurred by measuring the delay between the flash and thunder, using the speed of sound (~343 m/s).
Formula
Distance = Seconds × Speed of Sound (343 m/s)Seconds = Time delay between lightning flash and thunder
343 m/s = Speed of sound in air at 20°C (approximately 1 mile per 5 seconds)
Worked Example
15 seconds between flash and thunder
Did you know? Lightning strikes the Earth approximately 100 times per second (8 million times per day). The average lightning bolt is about 1–2 inches wide but can reach temperatures of 30,000°C — five times hotter than the sun's surface (source: NOAA).
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