I don't think I've ever experienced a proper thunderstorm, except maybe once or twice in my life. They are rare where I live; sure, we may get really hard rain or big chunks of hail, and it does snow quite a bit just a couple of hours away in the mountains, but thunder and lightning happen maybe only once or twice a year. And from what friends who used to live in other parts of the country have told me, our thunderstorms are very tame compared to what they've experienced elsewhere. I do like them when they happen though, it's exciting. The one time that truly scared me was only a couple of years ago, when it was so loud that I could have sworn the lightning was hitting nearly on top of us. It's scary to hear that giant cracking sound that makes it seem like the earth is splitting into pieces.