How do you determine how far away lightning is in feet?

Answer 1

First, look for a flash of lightning. After seeing one, count seconds. After research, I have seen that you can count seconds any way you prefer, like "One Mississippi, Two Mississippi," and so on, or "1, 100, 2, 100" and so on. Count whichever you like or other methods. They are both the same in time elapsed. Keep counting seconds until you hear a clap of thunder. Divide the number of seconds by five. The number you have is how many miles away the storm is.

Answer 2

First, you must see the lightning flash. Count each second, until you hear thunder. Then divide the number of seconds by 5, and that is approximately how far away the lightning is in miles. A more traditional method doesn't divide by 5, but just counts the seconds. Dividing by 5 is more reliable, though.

Answer 3

Sound travels about 1000 feet per second and light travels very very fast. So you count how many seconds after you see lightning before you hear the thunder, then multiply by 1000.

So if you hear thunder 5 seconds after you see the lightning, that is 5000 feet, approximately