SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/science-thunder-cause

What causes the sound of thunder?

Lightning quickly heats air, causing it to expand and create a shockwave.

Start playing free

  1. The sun heating clouds
  2. Air expanding after lightning heats it ✔
  3. Rain hitting the ground

Why: Lightning heats the air around it to very high temperatures in a fraction of a second. The air expands explosively and creates the sound wave we hear as thunder.

Huh, didn't know that: The air in a lightning channel can reach about 50,000 degrees F, about 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

The dad joke
Why is it so windy inside an arena? All those fans.
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: Air expanding after lightning heats it. Lightning heats the air around it to very high temperatures in a fraction of a second. The air expands explosively and creates the sound wave we hear as thunder.

  1. National Weather Service Thunder Science www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-science-thunder
    The lightning discharge heats the air rapidly and causes it to expand.
    Checked 2026-10-11.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

Test yourself in the game

How Things WorkDoes lightning ever strike the same place twice?How Things WorkYou see lightning, then count 10 seconds until thunder. About how far away was it?How Things WorkHow hot can lightning heat the air around it?

That's stuff everyone should know.