There are some characteristics of Lightning that everyone recognizes such as Thunder!!!! Thunder is the intense sound waves created by the explosion in the due to the lightning. These sound waves are of great magnitude and are known to cause damage to structures. One way to think of it would be to visualize the direct force created by an explosion such as a nuclear strike. The waves that disperse are known to do as much and more damage than the actual strike. One recognizable characteristic of thunder is that you can estimate how close a lightning strike is by the time it takes the sound waves to reach you. Sound travels at about 1 mile in 4.5 seconds, therefore for every second that it takes after the upstroke to hear the thunder, you can guess that it is just over a quarter mile away. The upstroke is the actual bolt like figure created by the transfer of charge between the ground and cloud. Light on the other hand travels at about 186,000 mi/s, which causes its explosion to be hotter than the surface of the sun with averages of about 20,000 degrees C (3 times that of the sun), while in the form of lightning traveling through the sky.
      
                                                                                http://www.chaseday.com/lightning2.htm
                                                                                            Photo taken by Gene Moore
    
http://science.howstuffworks.com/lightning8.htm                           http://www.weatherphotography.com  (c)Harald Edens, reproduced with permission

    There are two types of strikes, ground to cloud as seen on the left, and cloud to ground as seen in the beautiful display on the right.  Ground to cloud strikes are initiated by tall objects connected to the ground, while maintaining the same properties as normal strikes.
    Secondary Strikes are sometimes illusional. Many times when a bolt of lightning, usually the main strike, lasts a longer period of time due to a second, or many strikes right in a row along the same path. This creates the illusion that the bolt remained in the sky. Many photographers take advantage of this character by using time exposed cameras which take a picture over a extended amount of time, later revealing a much fuller, and elaborate picture.