Scout Skills: Time and Weather

Counting seconds during a thunderstorm can tell you how far away lightning strikes are occurring and whether the storm is coming toward you or is drifting away. You can use the speed of sound to estimate a storm from you. Sound moves through the air at a speed of approximately 770 feet per second, or about a mile every 7 seconds. When you see a flash of lightning, start counting by thousands until you hear the thunder. if you’ve reached a higher number than one-thousand-seven, you’ll know the lightning bolt was more than a mile away. Less than one-thousand-seven means the lightning was closer. — The Official Boy Scout Handbook 2009 printing