Hear a super loud clap of thunder this morning in metro Atlanta? Here’s why

ATLANTA — If you heard a huge clap of thunder this morning in metro Atlanta, you’re not alone.

Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brian Monahan said that thunder becomes especially loud during the “elevated” thunderstorms that moved over metro Atlanta last night.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

“These are storms where the air that builds into them rises from a couple thousand feet off the ground rather than from the ground,” Monahan said. “While this limits the risk of severe weather, it can make thunderstorms extra-loud when thunder does happen. This occurs because the sound waves get trapped below what is called a “‘low level temperature inversion.’”

TRENDING STORIES:

• Georgia hits state record for average price of gallon of gas Wednesday
• Attorney says ‘hostile’ new contract for DeKalb teachers opens district to flood of lawsuits
• New surveillance video shows one of the last times missing mother seen alive in Johns Creek

An inversion happens when the temperatures rise with height, rather than fall. The inversion acts like a lid in the low levels of the atmosphere, and the sound of the thunder bounces off of it and objects on the ground.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

“Since it can’t escape upward, it amplifies the sound of the thunder,” Monahan said.

A dry but cloudy night ahead for your Wednesday Here's Severe Weather Team 2's Brad Nitz with a look at your Wednesday night forecast.

©2022 Cox Media Group