St. wrote:
>  Isn't it a rule of thumb that for every second after the lightning until 
> the thunder sounds, that's one mile per second? Hence 9 seconds, the storm 
> is 9 miles away from you?

Sound travels about 1000 feet per second, and there are about 5000 feet 
in a mile, so five seconds is one mile.

I was once running home down a mountain trail when it started to rain, 
with my brother beside me, and lightning went between the two of us 
(incidentally striking the building we were running towards, going in 
the window and out the door to ground).  It was the *loudest* and 
*brightest* thing I'd ever heard, needless to say.  I remember being 
stunned still, and then a few seconds later looking up to see my brother 
running down the hill screaming and waving his hands over his head. I 
always thought it was comedic exaggeration to run waving your hands over 
your head, but I guess not.

-- 
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)

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