A few weeks ago there was a massive clap of thunder overhead that I thought was an explosion. No rain, just thunder and a single flash of lightning. It was very unnerving.

Holy crap! That MUST have been loud.

Jan, I hate those unexpected thunderclaps, esp. when we have our windows open. So startling.

No rain, just thunder and a single flash of lightning.

That happened quite often when I was in Indiana. I think it was caused by heat and a certain kind of humidity, but I really haven't the foggiest.

Several years ago, at about 2 a.m. on Christmas Eve, my parents' house was hit by lightning during a freak snowstorm. We were all asleep when it happened. When the lightning hit, I was of course awakened by the noise. But in the split second before my eyes opened, I could actually see the room around me with my eyes closed. That's how bright it was.

I have had lightning strike residential transformers within 50 feet of me twice in my life, the second a couple weeks ago. A third struck a tree about 100 feet from me. The sound is undescribably loud and it hits you with none of the rumbling you normally hear, just a simple, split-second bang. The light is just as mudpuppie describes, and I consider myself lucky that I was not looking directly at the point of the strike, as I believe it possibly could have caused at least temporary retinal damage.