Margie Porter, age 11, of Denison, Tx 

How far can we hear the thunder?  _

The roar of the thunder is caused by the dazzling flash of lightning

and lightning is a searing charge of electricity, The flash of light travels on and on and we can see its reflection as heat lightning way over the horizon  The thunder, of course, is sound and sound is a far weaker force than light  It pokes along, losing its energy as it goes 

We hear the loud roar only when the storm is directly overhead  A mile away, the sound is fainter and two miles fainter still  If the storm is over a mountain, all the noise is lost before it reaches our ears  We can hear the thunder farther over the sea and over flat country, But even here, all the sound peters out in a few miles  Rarely, if ever, hear thunder from as far as ten miles away.