Which comes first - lightning or thunder?

Meteorologist Mark Elliot takes to the streets once again, testing your knowledge of all things weather. read more

Though it is theoretically possible to hear thunder and then see lightning, lightning actually causes thunder, so it has to come first. Thunder is the noise that's caused by the sound of the rapid expansion of air that gets suddenly heated by a bolt of lightning. read more

Lightning always comes first, the strike displaces the air along its path, after the strike is done the air rushes back into the space, that causes the ‘crash’ of thunder. Thunder comes only milliseconds after, and of course the farther you are away the longer it takes sound to travel to you. read more

Thunder and lightning both occur at the same instant. If you are observing them from a distance, then you perceive the lightning first, because the. read more