Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains the Sounds of Weather

We’ve all experienced our fair share of weather. But have we listened to it? On this StarTalk explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice investigate the sounds of weather.
Find out about the shape of lightning and how that influences the sound of thunder. We explore “constructive” and “destructive” interference. Neil explains why we feel some sounds more than we hear them. And, Neil gives us a science trick to help figure out how far you are from the approaching storm.
We explore why snow is nature’s sound-proofing. Then, we debate if you can hear an aurora. All that, plus, we investigate hail and Neil shares why “down pause” is one of his favorite weather terms.
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About StarTalk:
Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!
#StarTalk #neildegrassetyson
0:00 - Introduction
1:09 - Lightning & Thunder
2:05 - Constructive & Destructive Interference
4:22 - Pressure Waves
7:03 - How To Tell The Distance of a Storm
9:08 - Sound of Snow
12:15 - Aurora Borealis
13:17 - Sound of Hail
16:22 - Closing Notes

[@SerDunk]

The science teacher we never had but always wanted :)

[@bballNeverEnds]

Exactly!

[@MrMakingwavesmedia]

I desired a teacher that was an actual scientist meaning someone that actually contributed their own work to science. Frauds are terrible teachers and usually arrogant like him.

[@ManualdeSobrevivencia]

Extremely correct.

[@SierWilliam]

Perfect description of Neil

[@AggroPhene]

I liked his little "check the math backwards" at 8:00

[@Morfeusm]

“Ohsnapquakleknapoopptupftkukuburbhroom!” Neil DeGrasse Tyson 2021

[@vasilzhekov9245]

Need help. I read this and accidentally summoned a strange creature. Pls tell me how to get rid of it.

[@Morfeusm]

@@vasilzhekov9245 Oh no! 😱 Chant aloud: “Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn." I dispatched a unit to help you! Stay put. And do not let any cats in the room no matter what!

[@vasilzhekov9245]

@@Morfeusm Too late my cat pushed the creature from the window. She thought it was the remote control.

[@sifuculreif6448]

@@vasilzhekov9245 We hear you, agent ZhEkoV. Sending Samsara team to your location. Prepare amnestic measures.

[@mrhashemi6322]

That's 2020 did to you

[@witchdoctor6502]

I like how Neil wanted to imitate the thunder, realized it probably wont sound anything like it, but knew it was too late to stop so he commited :D A+ just for that

[@NatureOkie]

I always thought Thunder sounded like the Guitar riff of WHITE WEDDING...

[@pablomuzzobar8940]

10 POINTS TO GRIFFINDOOR

[@montanamike7948]

dumbest comment ever

[@Not_Vladimir_Putin]

Neil's lightning will be my new ring tone

[@TheMrbojangles74]

I remember reading accounts when Niagara falls froze and everyone woke up and did not know what was wrong. Just that something was wrong. It was the absence of the rumble of the waterfall.

[@ARTemiUSMilitarist]

3:19 would be another clip in "Neil without context"

[@whorrible9198]

*running late for a date* Me: Hold on, I need to get chemically prepped.

[@timward3946]

“The beep boppers” Neil just sounded whiter than me 🤣 love the show & learned stuff cheers chaps

[@LewisWilkins-Lighting]

Don't worry, you out whited him again with "Chaps"

[@timward3946]

@@LewisWilkins-Lighting I know 🤣🤣🤣

[@ajcook7777]

@@LewisWilkins-Lighting And he isn't even British 😭😭😭😭

[@hareecionelson5875]

Alright mate? top blokes in this thread.

[@drew7481]

Good call!!!

[@however_science]

Like it's just amazing to see that there are many people out there who are nerds like me! Keep the hard work! 😉

[@ViratKohli-jj3wj]

Hello fellow nerd

[@pubg4pubg51]

hi

[@burgelar4790]

haha nerd

[@however_science]

@@burgelar4790 and..?

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

@@burgelar4790 you say that like it's a bad thing. It isn't. 😁

[@keithmorgan4883]

I’ll never get tired of watching these videos.

[@Synthwave89]

There's nothing better than a new StarTalk upload with Chuck and Neil. Love the show guys.

[@ismirdochegal4804]

[09:55] Not only does snow muffle the sound of the city, thick fog can do that too.

[@simateix6262]

My parents tought me about the timing a lightning and determinig how far away it is when I was a kid. Love the fact you mentioned it ) and as always, amazing episode. Keep looking up

[@manabud2480]

Chuck's excitement is me every episode

[@gtbkts]

Same.

[@blizzbee]

lol true

[@addictedtoyoutubecomments5950]

Yep lol

[@JohnDoe-wo9ie]

Neal's everyone's national science teacher and I have to say one of the only teachers I have paid attention to without effort.

[@Irish-Jesus]

I will never get bored of star talk or weather sounds or whatever you have to say. This was so interesting 🔥🧡

[@Winchell87]

Best show ever. I’m always amazed by Neil’s ability to explain everything. Chuck also has a good grasp on things. Keep up the fantastic work gentlemen! 👏👏👏

[@jimr9499]

I've commented the same thing about Chuck many times. He has an above average understanding of all these concepts and is very good at applying it to future topics/discussions. He seems to recall things that Neil taught him very, very well.

[@charliesimpson3658]

I once experienced a freak blizzard/thunderstorm on a January evening and it was so weird because you felt the thunder more than you heard it because it was muffled and sort of isolated and the flashes of lighting were isolated and diffused. It was strange and felt kind of ominous and foreboding but an amazing experience I'll never forget.

[@Dlf212]

I've one experienced hail on a sunny day on a scooter ....

[@andrewolson5471]

I have always loved the tranquility that the snow brings with is muffling effect.

[@qa4057]

"The thunder that sounds like it's tearing the sky." I love the sound of an approaching storm. Star talk should be required material to view in an educational science curriculum .

[@davidjacobik5451]

This is a relevant episode for me right now, one project I'm working on is sounds of rainfall, thunder, and lightening made with analog synthesizers. A lot of the acoustic variables you're talking about are quite related.

[@Sparxyz]

The Explainer Zone, I like that B)

[@zadudet1]

I actually had lightning strike my house once and it was bizarre. At the same moment as I heard/felt it( and I felt it in the very core of my being), I also saw the light come in through two windows of the house. One in the kitchen and one directly behind my chair where I was sitting. It didn't go light, then sound. Both seemed to happen instantaneously. The next morning, I went outside to check it out, and I could see two separate spot where it had penetrated the bricks on the side of the house. The coolest part was where it hit the ground though. The lightning went into the concrete of my driveway and formed a glass-like substance where it had struck. It utterly terrifying, but undeniably awesome.

[@edt140589]

Just over night here in Sydney Australia we had a storm with lightning and now listening to this what a science lesson

[@TheUrbanAstronomer]

Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains the Sounds of Weather at 3:18 😄🌩⛈

[@ashtreylil1]

9:25 I audibly gasped when I realized what he was about to explain. How did I never think of that explanation

[@TenBuckCanuck]

I live in Northern Ontario and have seen the Aurora. I can confirm that when it's very strong and flickering there is a faint sound in the air....it sounds a little like rice krispies popping.

[@disideratum]

It’s electrostatic discharge. Anything on the ground that can easily conduct electric current will make that crunchy sound. A researcher walked around during an auroral storm with a Shure 58 microphone and found out that the hard way when he touched the metal bits lol.. Shortwave radio can pick up other sounds too. If you can find one that changes stations with a dial (a potentiometer kind??) you can move the dial in between stations and find sounds from the Aurora. It’s also called “Natural Radio”.

[@jameswilliams3038]

The dead silence from a gentle snowfall is one of the only good parts of winter. Love going out for a walk when it happens

[@turpialito]

I second "The Explainer Zone" name. It needs to be a thing!

[@TheWeatherbuff]

When us meteorologists hear non-meteorologists explain weather-related phenomena, one phrase you're bound to hear is "Well, actually..." BUT, Neil has it down! Excellent episode! :)

[@bmxfreakxyo]

This duo works so well!

[@gsav1320]

I love star talk because a concept like constructive interference that we spend an entire class period on in physics Neil can explain in a minute

[@sandmancase9]

The amazing timing of the statement " that's why if you own a dog (and with lightning on the horizon) they might be trembling, you don't know why, because you can't hear it" as I'm looking at lightning in the distance and my dogs huddled in a corner.

[@dandychiggins3668]

Teacher: "Who can give an example of an onomatopoeia?" Me: 3:19

[@bullettube9863]

The method of guessing how far away a storm is by timing the thunder after you see the lightning flash was taught to me when I was cub scout at the age of eight. I still use it and taught it it to my grand-daughter in Florida a couple of years ago. They live near Orlando Florida which according to every one living there is the lightning/thunderstorm capital of the world!

[@DeX9O2]

Anyone ever drive into a thunder storm? I think it’s one of the coolest experiences seeing sheets of rain heading your way then wam!

[@jimr9499]

One time I was driving along with the storm for a few moments. So my windshield was getting rained on but my rear window wasn't! Very cool.

[@eeriekekashi419]

Its an honour to be able listen to Neil talk.

[@fadyelkersh9278]

Explainer zone sounds dope, just putting that out there 👏🙌

[@kpoplover2828]

I Loved the enthusiastic thumbnail. Great video as always. Thank you ♡

[@Thomas-qn4hj]

6:40 That is exactly what it sounds like, I experienced an extremely close lighting strike sitting in my car. It was such a strange sound, in fact thanks to this channel, I now have a better understanding as to why I heard, what I assumed was the slightest of a mini pre-thunder clap just before the fabric of space ripped apart. Will never forget it.

[@zeedee7387]

got a NDT Masterclass Ad on this video... and I’m not complaining😌 I watch the ads all the way through as my small way of contributing to all the knowledge NDT has given me. Thanks Startalk!

[@PigRipperLAW]

That’s absolutely fascinating. Love the way you guys talk about science and life.

[@davew5383]

This is very interesting👍🙂 I can still remember when I was a kid living in Mesa, Arizona in the early 80's during Monsoon season and a powerful storm was over our house, I can remember seeing the large window looking out to our back yard from the livingroom shaking with the the powerful sounds of the thunder, expecting that the window would eventually shatter because it was shaking so much from the sounds of the thunder. Trying to stay away from the window but also being amazed by the lightning show outside, it was scary and very exciting at the same time🙂

[@radar536]

I wish I have had a teacher like Neil. Not only because knows a lot and knows how to explain, but because his charisma and he is funny!

[@davidsisson194]

I've heard that, when listening to music your heartbeat will sink up with the beat. This is because sound is a form of energy, just like light and heat. I can relate to Chuck on the children noise, there have been moments that my children go to their mother's house and I'll say "sounds like the kids are doing something they're not supposed to, it's too quiet."

[@dahighlander2468]

Shooting my shot! Thanks Neil and Chuck for such a great year! I have a very general question. Neil, you have a master class on scientific thinking and communication. I just graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Communication and a minor in the novel Space minor (our professor, Chris Koehler, and a personal interview with you. We sent you a "Thank you Neil" photo in 2019 and I was the one in a shoulder brase holding the "N" of your name). My question for you is what would you do for a career if you only studied what you teach in master class, communication and scientific thinking (a space minor)? Again, thank you both so much, you both absolutely made my year!

[@Lucy_Bayard_John]

I just love you guys! In a forest, during a snow fall, there is no sound, but why my ears feel kind of a pain?

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

Likely the cold air is chilling your earlobes, LOL! Really, my ears got slightly frostbitten, once, due to having a vehicle breakdown & having to walk for help in the freezing cold with no hat on. Wasn't that far, but sure seemed like it! But after that, the cold has always made my ears hurt worse. ~shrug~ Edited to add: you also might be just missing the normal sounds, and straining to hear what your mind thinks you should be hearing.

[@PHutch-me5bq]

🥰 love watching these explainer videos and the ever entertaining host & co-host 😎🤯❤

[@pursueallthings581]

Why would people dislike STARTALK. Keep doing what you guys are doing and don't stop.

[@davidsmith-uw2ci]

I remember i was a kid running to get home in a thunderstorm i heard the loudest thunder clap i ever heard and scared me so bad i swear it felt like i jumped 10 feet in the air lol

[@linedanzer4302]

That happened where I live a couple of weeks ago. Scared us all!

[@linedanzer4302]

@Deal Negrasse Bison He jumped right to it!!

[@browniegay9130]

lol

[@MikeNmurdoc]

I could listen to these alllll DAY!

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

LOL, I have done this before! Like on a slow news day, and when nothing much interesting to me is on TV, and I'm not in the mood for just music, I'll line up several of these in a queue on here, link it to my TV, and just have NDT on my TV all day (or all night, if I'm especially insomniac that night!). Great way to enjoy science and relax, at the same time!

[@Flypidge]

I could listen to stuff like this all day long. Brilliant 👍

[@illuminateyourmind]

Great episode. Inspired sound mimicry 😁 As a kid I lived in an area known for insane lightning… once it did strike the house and it was indeed like the tearing asunder of space-time 😱 I loved the storms.

[@youmakeitreal]

Great segue for a talk about the Schumann resonance👍😁

[@Mr.Nichan]

"Noise", as opposed to musical tones or chords, is made of lots of different frequencies of sound without anything close to simple integer ratios between them, usually something that can be thought of as a continuous distribution of frequencies over some range (so that a graph of amplitude vs frequency looks like a continuous curve rather than a bunch of separate spikes like what musical sounds look like). When he mentioned the irregularity of lighting, that's the first thing I thought of, but then I thought about the fact that all explosions sound noisy and I don't know exactly where the frequencies of sound explosions make come from. I guess the noisiness comes from chaos in flames or irregularity in the environment or something like that.

[@skwrk]

Awsome to hear you!

[@RodrigoRaez]

This was an incredible episode. Thank you very much for this information.

[@johnfinnegan8474]

For as long as I can remember, whenever I saw a lightning flash I would count off the seconds the best I could until I heard the thunderclap. If the thunderclap came when I had counted up to five, I knew the lightning was coming from roughly a mile away owing to the huge difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound.

[@MeanaBeana391]

Loved this! Have an Explainer-Worthy Question for you... ? When you suddenly drive into/out-of a rain storm and there is a distinctive wet-dry line on the pavement? Fascinated me as a child when Parents took us on a day trip to Bear Mountain from NYC... THANKS ❣

[@Sajin688]

This was an awesome awesome video thank you Chuck and Neil

[@UrsHarshaVardhan]

" Neil's Thunder " is going to be the new meme template 😅

[@gregborders8713]

One more to add to you list of snow sounds: If it gets REALLY cold, (around -15°F) the snow starts getting 'squeaky' ! It sounds similar to what you get when you rub Styrofoam on a window. Also, the consistency starts feeling more like walking in sand than snow.

[@ManaBDew]

Frozen hail is kinda like The candy jaw breakers. It's how dipping dots are made too. I've seen Golf size hail in Tx too.

[@davidberberena5135]

Hey Neil, awesome StarTalk convo. I was wondering if you could discuss the "Polar Vortex" subject that seems to be a rising world topic.

[@meridien52681]

Ok, Neil, thunder snow! First time I heard it was during a huge blizzard, and it has happened rarely after that. Scary, and fascinating!

[@awnaw]

wonderful 🌊 wishing all here peace and prosperity in the new year

[@lamplighter82]

These two are hilarious. Makes the video all the more enjoyable.

[@gremio3293]

Me: opens a door while everyone's sleeping The door: 3:19

[@MitzvosGolem1]

I see heat lighting in mountain s near bye no sound .. horizontal often . Why no sound from this type of lightning ? Awesome channel.

[@CommackMark]

Many people confuse hail and sleet. Sleet is a winter weather phenomenon created by a warm/cold layer of air where a piece of precipitation ...starting as either an above freezing rain drop or below freezing snow flake is at some point on its journey to the ground above freezing and is a rain drop but freezes in a colder layer of air as it falls through the layers of atmosphere. This creates sleet. Hail as explained is caused by powerful updrafts that lift the warm thunderstorm precipitation high into the thundered cloud and it reaches a level of atmosphere below freezing. Then it escapes the updraft and falls but can be recaptured in the updraft again and lifted and add another layer of ice. This cycle can repeat many times creating very large hail which at some point is heavy enough to overcome the updraft and fall to the ground. Sometimes the most hail dumps out as the thunderstorm begins to weaken and the updraft collapses and all of the hail dumps out at once.

[@simonst9428]

For 2021 I just hope we will get at least a explainer video everyday

[@mattblakeslee4309]

Thank you for explaining this! I always wondered why thunder sounded the way it does

[@wojciechkedzierski5093]

That frequence is when sound drops below 20 Hz, lovely feeling :)

[@loidzpc4237]

Science is always fun with Neil and Chuck!

[@Augmuse]

The "Explainer Zone" is a great titled for this segment.

[@jumakulovjamshid6112]

Explainer zone I love it :)

[@k-hq7736]

What about the wind? Air moving in air at different speeds and then hitting your ear drum? All the swishing and swooshing. Opposed to the shockwave of lightning

[@jorgepeterbarton]

Do we hear basic wind? Its not a wave. So maybe only hear when it interferes with an object. Either swooshing some trees or going past something like its a wind instrument mouthpiece?

[@robr9170]

This is great I had heard of counting the time between lighting and thunder before to determine how close it was but I never knew the science behind it

[@MiningMyBusiness]

Love the lightning explainer Question The form of lightning jets and sprites do they make an audible sound.

[@AndreaCuchetto]

“Downpause” - perfect!

[@theseeker5579]

Thank you Mr. Tyson, you are and Authority in the Sky!!!

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

Well, you might rephrase that to say authority _on_ the sky, so you don't annoy any overly religious people, LOL

[@theseeker5579]

@@MaryAnnNytowl I believe he is. Let the thumpers come!!

[@BinaHejazi]

I will isolate Neil's thunder and convert it to my ring tome on the phone!

[@realexivus950]

I was once walking down the street, and lightning struck maybe 25m down the road. Being that close, i could not only hear the crackle of the arc along with the boom, but i could practically feel it. It was absurdly loud at that distance

[@gtbkts]

Lightning struck a tree 30 yrds away from my house and I swear I could feel the energy in the air around me. Im pretty shure it was adrenaline. Still remember every second of it. Nature is on another level sometimes.

[@Guillan80]

Thank you Mr.Neil. And Chuck 🤜🤛🤝

[@apoorv_sharan]

Dr. Tyson I have a question about the universe. Is it possible that the End of the Universe only exists in our Minds as it is something we "can" think about. We cannot think about what happens after this end so therefore there is no end? How does our thinking or our consciousness affect the whole universe?

[@itismanc]

*hits blunt*

[@aspirine24]

Universe doesn't care what you think ........our consciousness or our thinking will not have any affect on whole universe ( just an answer from my side )

[@apoorv_sharan]

@@aspirine24 but seeing the photon in a double slit experiment, the act of us seeing the particle makes it change it's form right?

[@aspirine24]

@@apoorv_sharan we may find an answer for that particular question............(but questions never end )

[@jorgepeterbarton]

@@apoorv_sharan no. Its a detector, or any particle really, having some exchange with the particle you observe. Its just we use particles to "see" so how do you look at a particle without another particle interacting some how? Never has been to do with consciousness. Especially on a non-quantum size.

[@patrickyoung5097]

I always wondered why it was so quiet outside when it snows!

[@ThomasParis]

I was lucky enough to experience the Aurora several times and never heard it. Even when it was rather intense. Loved the experience anyway :)

[@kekejuww1834]

More explainer zone pleaseeeeee

[@ceooflurking]

7:14 i felt that laughter as if it was in my own house 😆 i love their ST shows

[@lindaseel8633]

I will retain more if what I just learned because it was presented in an energetic, fun way. Down pause sounds like a musical term.

[@Parisneo]

tchuuuuk. I like how Neil says it every time. Never gets old.

[@sammilux9848]

4:57 this is why i love them

[@theRealSteinocher]

With StarTalk, you are always in the Goldilocks Zone of Knowledge.

[@jeanmakesgames]

As a non native english speaker, this was nice for learning that we can use the word "Kinks" in an other way than the one I use it for normally. Thanks Neil ;)

[@andreanderson2727]

You guys are a great team.

[@midnightchurningspriteshaq8533]

I've often wondered if disturbance in the air from some motion in low altitude (such as a tree falling or some sort of landslide) has a shockwave effect on the air that produces a phenomenon that we haven't fully realized yet.

[@MrWasim100100]

thanks no body explained physics of lightening and weather as nicely as you Neil and Chuck how much wealth of knowledge you have wow Neil love you from far east one little question some times lightening do damage on earth is it the flow of charge that kills or heat produced ?

[@arnoldwakefield5729]

"Down pause" educational and informative 👍

[@ATLGAMER47]

8:32 this is so interesting. There's a video game I played where there were characters who were trying to create a distraction and they were using the same math to predict when the lightning distance so that they could cause a distraction right when it thundered.

[@jag731]

Yes, hail sizes are directly related to updraft wind speed. For example: Pea size = 24mph updraft. Quarter size = 59mph, tennis ball = 77mph, and if you see softball size hail, know that the destruction to your roof, car and other property took an updraft speed of 103mph to keep those stones lofted.

[@jgonzalezvalle]

Great explanation but I still have questions. Does hail change size while falling by y capturing or losing moisture in the air? Why can we have rain drops and hail at the same time if one is lighter than the other? Were they formed in a different cloud or different altitude? Thanks