Did you know there's a way to tell how close you are from each lightning strike?

What You Need To Know

  • "One Mississippi" is used to count distance from lightning strikes

  • Light travels faster than sound

  • It takes approximately five seconds for the sound to travel one mile.

You may have been taught to count by Mississippis to track how close lightning is.

But why Mississippi?

It takes about five seconds to say, close to the five seconds it takes for sound to travel one mile.

Light travels faster than sound.

Lightning heats the air to 50,000 degrees. That’s five times hotter than the surface of the sun.

That air then explosively expands, creating a shock wave as the surrounding air is rapidly compressed and contracts rapidly as it cools.

That shock wave is followed by rumbles as the column of air continues to vibrate.

If thunder follows almost immediately, then you know the lightning is too close for comfort.

So remember, when thunder roars, go indoors.

If you can hear thunder that means you are close enough to the storm to possibly be struck by lightning.

But since we live here in Texas, I think we should change it up a bit.

Instead of Mississippi, maybe use Whataburger.

One Whataburger, Two Whataburger, Three Whataburger...