Thunder

[4] In turn, this expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave, often referred to as a "thunderclap" or "peal of thunder".

Middle Dutch donre; also Old Norse þorr, Old Frisian þuner, Old High German donar, all ultimately descended from Proto-Germanic *þunraz).

[7] Scientists have agreed since the 20th century that thunder must begin with a shock wave in the air due to the sudden thermal expansion of the plasma in the lightning channel.

[10] This heating causes a rapid outward expansion, impacting the surrounding cooler air at a speed faster than sound would otherwise travel.

[12] Experimental studies of simulated lightning have produced results largely consistent with this model, though there is continued debate about the precise physical mechanisms of the process.

[13][9] Other causes have also been proposed, relying on electrodynamic effects of the enormous current acting on the plasma in the bolt of lightning.

[14] The shock wave in thunder is sufficient to cause property damage[7] and injury, such as internal contusion, to individuals nearby.

The resulting thunder sounds have significantly greater acoustic energy than those produced from the same distance in non-inversion conditions.

Within a temperature inversion, sound energy is prevented from dispersing vertically as it would in non-inversion conditions, and is thus concentrated in the near-ground layer.