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We had an extremely impressive thunderstorm last night, unprecedented for the fairly moderate Northern Virginia weather, and impressive probably in most places. I was glad not to be in a tent.

I was surprised by how many commenters on NextDoor found the thunder frightening. They specified the noise of the thunder as frightening, not the lightning, severe winds, torrential rain or modest hail, which most didn't even mention.

My first reaction was to dismiss them as silly. But then I wondered if thunder is known to have caused damage (from pressure differential) and, if so, under what circumstances. Exclude damage caused by people who are momentarily startled by a sudden clap of thunder and lose control of machinery or who slip and fall.

ab2
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    Regardless of the possibility of damage, I think it's not unreasonable to say one is frightened of the thunder (because it represents danger). One might also say that they are frightened of the roar of a tiger or the sound of a gun being fired, even though it's the teeth and bullets that are actually dangerous - not the sound. – tim Aug 07 '22 at 15:15
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    Truly, it is not worth worry about anything posted on NextDoor. – Azor Ahai -him- Aug 08 '22 at 14:34
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    As a general rule, I think it's a bad idea to dismiss other people's fears as "silly" or ignorant if you don't share them. An ounce of empathy goes a long way when it comes to interpersonal relations. – Michael Seifert Aug 08 '22 at 18:48
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    Even more generally, ridiculing other people's emotions burns bridges. The smugness of being right? - totally worth it. Seriously, though, I fear the tide unexpectedly going out and snow cracking and the gentle tremors of once dormant volcanoes. None of these things ever killed anybody, right? – user121330 Aug 09 '22 at 05:51
  • @ab2 have you ever been caught in a thunderstorm high in the mountains? I can assure that if you are on a high ridge and you start hearing thunder it can be darn frightening even if you know perfectly well that the lightning is the real hazard. If lightning strikes near you the thunder is FRICKING loud, and your CNS will start pumping all the adrenaline it can muster because it thinks your life is in peril (which it is). Same reason that lots of dogs hate fireworks and thunder, and some veterans get their PTSD triggered. Sudden loud noises are often associated with an imminent hazard. – Charles E. Grant Aug 09 '22 at 21:33
  • I've seen a number of comments on NextDoor by people who are afraid of something that is not in the least dangerous. I don't think there's anything wrong if you "dismiss them as silly" but keep your thoughts to yourself. Or maybe explain why the thing isn't dangerous, if you feel you have to. You probably won't get much traction, though. – Don Branson Aug 09 '22 at 22:14
  • @Charles E. Grant Worst time: On a ridge when buzzing like many bees started. Fine hairs stood up. THAT was frightening! Ran down the ridge! Been out in a thunderstorm on backpacking trips quite a few times. Used the timing of the thunder to track how far off the lightning was. Don't remember any really close lightning. Usually we are above timberline and with peaks nearby. That is, usually we were low relative to the nearby surroundings. In answer to your question: I find thunder exhilarating, not frightening, but respect it as a warning sign. – ab2 Aug 11 '22 at 00:20
  • Sounds plausible that the sound pressure could trigger an avalanche. Would that count? – Toby Speight Aug 20 '22 at 11:06
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    @Toby Speight Yes, it sounds plausible, and yes, that would count. However, see my comment under the last answer. To recap that comment: An avalanche expert in Alaska, in the book "Snowstruck", says that contrary to popular opinion, noise does not trigger avalanches. She does not specifically address thunder, however. – ab2 Aug 20 '22 at 13:10
  • Oops, missed that answer - voting now... – Toby Speight Aug 20 '22 at 13:45

3 Answers3

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Yes, and it apparently happened (article in German)

The paper reports from an incident in 2017 where a severe thunder blast destroyed windows. It has several images on what that looked like.

Bringing it together

The theories are not 100% confirmed, but the mostly accepted theory given in the Wikipedia article is that thunder is created by the massive and sudden increase of the temperature of the air surrounding the lightning (up to 30.000° C), which causes the air to expand its volume by a factor of 10 to 100. This then creates a shockwave and finally a blast. This effect is therefore comparable to a physical explosion, for instance caused by an exploding steam engine.

That such physical explosions can and have killed people is undoubted. My answer above has an instance of such an explosion causing (although minor) damage, but the other answers clearly state that it's very likely that standing to close to the source of a thunder may cause permanent hearing problems or even worse.

If somebody stood to close to the lightning, I'm assuming that would not be reported as "died of thunder", but more commonly as "died of lightning", even if the actual cause was not electrocution, but the effect of the shockwave. Whether the victim was also deaf afterwards, doesn't change anything, anyway.

PMF
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I can't address whether it's actually happened but it could:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder

In close proximity to the source, the sound pressure level of thunder is usually 165–180dB, but can exceed 200 dB in some cases.

That's way above the threshold to cause permanent hearing loss.

Someone
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Loren Pechtel
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    "That's way above the threshold to cause permanent damage" to what? Do you mean to human beings? How? Breaking eardrums? What is the threshold you are referring to? – terdon Aug 07 '22 at 16:53
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    @terdon Yes, he is referring to the threshold for permanent hearing loss. The following infographic (https://www.northhillshearingandbalancecenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Saxophone-sm.gif) claims that noise-induced hearing loss can be caused by listening to an 85dB sound for 8 hours, or a 127dB sound for 1 second. – Hari5000 Aug 07 '22 at 22:44
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    In close proximity to the source...meaning...you've just been hit by lightning? (For reference, Google says a gunshot is approximately 150-170 dB.) – user3067860 Aug 08 '22 at 16:38
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    @user3067860 The bolt might have gone into something far more conductive--it would be possible to be very close without being fried. – Loren Pechtel Aug 09 '22 at 02:26
  • @terdon: https://decibelpro.app/blog/can-sound-kill-you/ - yes, Sounds above 150 dB have the potential of causing life-threatening issues. Sounds between 170-200 dB are so intense that they can cause lethal issues* like pulmonary embolisms, pulmonary contusions, or even burst lungs.* Standing next to a lightning rod (so you aren't electrocuted) could be like standing next to an explosion, with serious over-pressure. – Peter Cordes Aug 09 '22 at 16:17
  • @PeterCordes yes, I don't doubt it, but I didn't see it anywhere in the answer. – terdon Aug 09 '22 at 16:22
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    @terdon: yeah, I'd highly recommend that Loren edit the answer to include that or some other source for sound being physically damaging to human bodies, and/or to say hearing damage if that's what was meant. But still +1 for digging up a decibel number. By comparison, a fighter jet engine at full thrust can be up to 150 dB from 42 feet away, 45 degrees off axis (https://www.noisemonitoringservices.com/how-loud-is-a-jet-engine/); dB is a log scale so 100 to 1000 times the power is a pretty big deal. – Peter Cordes Aug 09 '22 at 16:28
  • @PeterCordes My impression was that it could actually kill but the question only asked about damage and so I went with what I found easily. And their sound level chart being out of order makes me question the accuracy of the rest of their stuff. – Loren Pechtel Aug 10 '22 at 15:20
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Not in this period of the year. But from Spring to Early summer, in the areas where there is still some snow a well placed thunder might trigger an avalanche.

Usually the warm water just takes away the upper layer of the snow cover, but if there are points where it can seep to the ground and weaken the hold from beneath, a thunder triggering an avalanche might be even more likely.

FluidCode
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    +1, however, a book I am rereading "Snowstruck" by Jill Fredston, who with her husband Doug Fesler, are leading avalanche experts based in Alaska, says that noise, contrary to popular opinion, does not cause avalanches. But clearly vibration does, as of a snowmobile or human footsteps, so it is not clear if a loud noise can or cannot cause an avalanche. A quick Google search refers to "vibration", as a cause but does not mention loud noises. – ab2 Aug 08 '22 at 18:39
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    @ab2 erm, sound is defined as a vibration - "sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid" – DavidPostill Aug 08 '22 at 19:02
  • @DavidPostill Yes, I acknowledged this elementary-school fact in my second sentence. I also mentioned pressure differential in the Q, and, of course, a sound wave is a periodic variation in the pressure of the conducting medium. – ab2 Aug 09 '22 at 00:56
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    @ab2, I think the dispute comes from two things: 1) "loud noise" is subjective. A human might consider a 100-dB jackhammer to be loud, while thunder in close proximity to a lightning strike might hit 180 dB, producing pressures 10,000 times higher. 2) Sound couples poorly from air to solid objects, so that while a footstep might be quieter than speaking, it produces more vibration in the snowpack. – Mark Aug 09 '22 at 03:10