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 ...

A bolt of lightning heats the air through which it travels practically instantaneously to about 50,000 degrees F. Such extreme heating causes explosive expansion of the air followed by rapid cooling ...

Thunderstorms are one of nature's most fascinating and dangerous occurrences. We have all witnessed a lightning bolt illuminating the night sky and heard the booming crack of thunder that follows. As ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lightning is one of the most powerful and dangerous natural phenomena on Earth. A giant spark of static electricity, lightning serves as a type of “neutralizer” for electric charges ...

People talk about thunder and lightning as if they are different. Actually, lightning and thunder are more than just related: They are the same thing. When static charge creates enough voltage in a ...

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 ...