Rain and Thunder

Rain first, thunder in the distance

This outdoor field recording was made in Onalaska, Wisconsin, during a real rainstorm. Rain fills most of the scene, forming a steady background with natural shifts in texture and intensity. Thunder arrives occasionally from farther away, adding a low, spacious contrast without turning the whole recording into a series of loud impacts.

Most of the time, the rainfall remains the main sound. That makes this track a middle ground between rain-only ambience and a dramatic close-thunder storm. The distant rumbles add movement, but there are still long stretches where you can settle into the softer rhythm of the rain.

When this sound may fit

Choose this recording when you want recognizable outdoor weather with a little variation. It can sit behind reading, writing, quiet desk work, or an evening wind-down routine. The steady rain may also make sudden household sounds less noticeable by giving the room a more consistent background.

Start at a low volume, especially if you are listening on headphones. The thunder is distant, but it will naturally stand out more than the surrounding rain. If you prefer a completely rain-only atmosphere, browse the wider Rain Sounds collection and choose a track marked “No verified thunder.”

This is a natural recording rather than generated noise, so small changes in the weather remain audible. Those changes are part of the experience: the sound does not stay perfectly uniform, and the thunder does not arrive on a fixed schedule.

Original recording and playback

The original Freesound recording was captured by pmstrain on a small handheld Sony recorder and released under Creative Commons 0. The source describes rain with occasional distant thunder recorded in Wisconsin in 2016.

The original file runs for 6 minutes and 24 seconds. RainSleep can repeat it until you stop playback, the timer ends, or you leave the page. Use the volume and timer controls above to match the sound to your room and listening session.