Learn to calculate the lightning strike distance

Lightning can strike anywhere. Learn to calculate its distance when a storm approaches.

Lightning, albeit a wonder to behold, is dangerous and can strike anytime, even far away from its home base storm cloud. Once you've seen the storm forecast in your Weather & Radar app, you'll be watching the skies for these storm clouds and may even hear thunder in the distance once they form.

As a storm approaches and you see lightning, it is possible to calculate its distance from you. When lightning strikes, start counting the seconds until you hear the thunder. Once the thunderclap begins, take the number of seconds you just counted and divide them by five. This gives you the distance of the lightning strike in miles.

For example, when you see lightning and count for six seconds, you divide six by five, getting 1.2 miles away. That's a close strike! The best practice to stay safe from lightning is to remember this, "When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors," and keep a close eye on the LightningRadar until it passes.