No thunder no lightning, you call that a severe thunderstorm?

[Robert Dewey]

I've seen SVRs with wording such as "this storm may contain little or no lightning." I've also seen warnings for intense outflow well ahead of any precipitation - it was something along the lines of "destructive winds in excess of 70 MPH will likely precede any rainfall or lightning..." (That was DTX or IWX in SC / SE MI a couple years back.)

On the other hand, I've also seen DTX issue a "short-fuse" (2-3 hrs) High Wind Warning for a line of showers producing winds between 70-80mph at the leading edge of a cold front, with +58mph behind the line for several hours.

 

[Chris Nuttall]

I've seen SVRs with wording such as "this storm may contain little or no lightning." I've also seen warnings for intense outflow well ahead of any precipitation - it was something along the lines of "destructive winds in excess of 70 MPH will likely precede any rainfall or lightning..." (That was DTX or IWX in SC / SE MI a couple years back.)

On the other hand, I've also seen DTX issue a "short-fuse" (2-3 hrs) High Wind Warning for a line of showers producing winds between 70-80mph at the leading edge of a cold front, with +58mph behind the line for several hours.

I've used CTA statements like that before when dealing with MCSs. I've also seen situations where High Wind Warnings were used for the outflow. It just depends on how far the outflow has pushed out from the parent storm.

 

[Stephen Levine]

Why would CC lightning not have thunder?

Sheet lightning high up within the thunderheads, especially occuring during simultaneous heavy rain may produce thunder that is too faint or far away to hear from one's ground location.

I have experienced this type of event a few times in the past. During these cases, lightning has come as close as flashing dimly and locally right overhead, but not being replied to by thunder.

 

[Jody Radzik]

I was very close to a CC event when I was backpacking along a high ridge in the Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico. Believe me, I heard it.

 

[rdale]

may produce thunder that is too faint or far away to hear from one's ground location.

I'm aware of distance / sound issues making it inaudible for some, but that's not what I was questioning... His comment was that most cloud-to-cloud lightning doesn't produce thunder, and I have some problems with that explainer