In Reply to: Re: Massive Thunder & Lightning at the moment in Mayo posted by HandJive on May 11, 2006 at 20:25:36:

The lightning was 10 miles away.
If a tree falls in a forest and there is nothing there to hear it, then it does not make a sound or noise (as noise is unwanted sound). Sound is a perception of vibrations through a medium (in this case air). If there is nothing to percieve the vibrations then they remain just that, vibrations, not sound.