Thunderstorm sounds for sleeping
Rain with distant thunder rolling through at irregular intervals.
Layers — mix as many as you like
Tap a second sound to layer it — rain under brown noise, for instance.
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What is thunderstorm?
A distant storm is rain with something happening in it. The rain keeps the constant bed that masks other noise, and every so often a low roll of thunder passes underneath. The intervals here are randomised rather than timed, which matters more than it sounds: thunder on a fixed schedule stops being weather and becomes a metronome.
Good for
- People who like rain but want more texture
- Autumn and winter evenings
- Masking low-frequency noise, thanks to the rumble
The details
- Built from
- The rain engine plus low-passed rumbles at random intervals
- Sounds like
- A storm a few miles off, no close strikes
- Thunder spacing
- Random, roughly every 20 to 90 seconds
Questions
Is thunder too startling to sleep to?
Distant thunder is a slow low rumble rather than a crack, and that is what this player produces — no close strikes and no sharp transients. If any sudden change disturbs you, plain rain or brown noise will be steadier.
Why does the thunder not repeat on a schedule?
Because a predictable interval is what makes a loop obvious. Once you notice the thunder arrives every forty seconds you start waiting for it, and waiting is the opposite of falling asleep.
Does the storm get closer?
No. It stays at a constant distance all night by design. A storm that built would be more realistic and considerably worse for sleeping.
Every colour of noise
White noise
Equal power at every frequency — the bright hiss that masks almost anything.
Play white noise →Brown noise
Deep and low, like a distant waterfall. The most popular colour for sleeping.
Play brown noise →Green noise
Mid-range noise, often described as the background sound of open countryside.
Play green noise →Pink noise
The middle ground: softer than white, brighter than brown. Close to steady rain.
Play pink noise →Blue noise
The mirror of pink: energy rises with pitch, giving a bright, airy hiss.
Play blue noise →Grey noise
Shaped so every frequency sounds equally loud, rather than measuring equally loud.
Play grey noise →Violet noise
The mirror of brown: rises 6 dB per octave into a thin, piercing hiss.
Play violet noise →Black noise
Effectively silence, with almost all energy below what you can hear.
Play black noise →Beyond the colours
Not noise colours in the strict sense, but built from them — and useful for the same reason.