Was just reminded of a lightning strike I saw once back in 1989 or 1990. Would have had to have been late summer since being out late at night wouldn't have been allowed during school season, and it would have definitely been before 1991 by maybe one or two years at most since we ended up moving into said friend's home in July 1991 after he moved away. The late summer comes from the weather patterns of where we lived; July to September were dangerous months with high heat, sudden flash flooding, and a lot of lightning storms.
My father and I were taking a family friend home from his workplace a bit after 10pm, maybe 10:15pm to 10:30pm at the latest. Lightning hit a baseball field approximately two miles east of our position. To be more specific, it hit the lighting for the field.
We only realized the lightning had actually hit the lights when said lights quickly grew to be as bright as noon. This took maybe about five or six seconds from recollection. When I say as bright as noon, I mean it-- while it was after 10:00pm at the time, visibility was extremely good for the entire area for that few seconds.
A few seconds before the entire set of lights all exploded in a shower of sparks that were plainly visible from our location, leaving the entire area pitch-black once again.
Don't think I've seen a direct hit like that before or since. It was one of those one-in-a-million random chances that you happened to be in the right place at the right time to see it.
What brought all this to mind is a local news report that that baseball field is one of two in the area that just got a dark-sky designation by rennovating their lighting to remove significant light pollution.
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