Thunder Boomers

A serious low pressure system rolled through Seattle last night bringing 50+ mph winds, lightning, rain, hail and, oh yeah, really, really loud thunder. Growing up, I heard that if you count the seconds between a flash of lighting and the boom of the thunder you can tell approximately how far away the storm is. Well, I don't know if that's a Weather Channel-approved method or not, but I counted 0.002 seconds between one of the lighting flashes and the insanely loud & scary thunder crack that followed. Eek! I never thought too much about getting struck by lightning until I moved aboard a sailboat with a metal mast that's 8" from my pillow (can anyone say "lighting rod"?). At least we're not the tallest boat in the marina. :) I'm sure folks in Florida are used to this kind of storm, but it's rare around here (and actually pretty fun).