Silent Lightning
Silent lightning also occurs where airborne matter muffles the thunder, such as heavy snow in winter storms (thundersnow) and dust and sand storms. In some instances, heavy falling snow has silenced thunder from cloud to ground lightning strikes as close as one to two miles (1.6 to 3.2 km) from the observer and severe dust storms are even more effective in many cases.
Read more about this topic: Heat Lightning
Famous quotes containing the words silent and/or lightning:
“Here stopped the good old sire, and wept for joy
In silent raptures of the hopeful boy.
All arguments, but most his plays, persuade
That for anointed dullness he was made.”
—John Dryden (1631–1700)
“The good, supreme, divine poetry is above the rules and reason. Whoever discerns its beauty with a firm, sedate gaze does not see it, any more than he sees the splendor of a lightning flash. It does not persuade our judgement, it ravishes and overwhelms it.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)