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The flash of a lightning strike and resulting thunder occur at roughly the same time. But light travels at 186,000 miles in a second, almost a million times the speed of sound. Sound travels at the slower speed of one-fifth of a mile in the same time. So the flash of lightning is seen before thunder is heard.
By counting the seconds between the flash and the thunder and dividing by 5, you can estimate your distance from the strike (in miles).

Source: <http://weathereye.kgan.com/cadet/lightning/thunder.html>

How much snow equals one inch of water?
It varies, but 1" water = 10 to 12 inches snow are basically the range. However, wet snows can result in ratios as low as 3:1 and very dry snows can result in ratios of 30:1 (in extreme cases, the ratio can be upwards of 100:1). So much depends on the wind and temperature profile of the atmosphere.

Source:
<http://blogs.usatoday.com/weather/2008/10/q-one-inch-of-s.html>