Aww! Not sure if it’s warranted, but have a tentative internet hug. 
That’s awful, but it’s sort of cute awful at least.
Thanks. Being startled by thunder isn’t that big of a deal, but when I’m outside in a thunderstorm, I’m terrified of being struck by lightning. I figure my fear is justified, because I know someone who was struck by lightning. And if you’ve ever heard statistics saying you’re more likely to be struck by lightning than certain other events (winning the lottery, being shark-bitten)… yeah, that’s no comfort to me.
Plus there’s the fact that thunderstorms sometimes cause power failures.
And well, we are 55-60% water, don’t forget that! Wear rubber soles. But, yeah, lightning strikes (as opposed to the little silent branches that stay in the clouds and never touch down) occur from the ground up. Though, I know logic really doesn’t help assuage fears. You’re safe in a car, too. (Because of tires.)
Don’t have any comforting activities you can do during a thunderstorm? Candlelight can be soothing. Maybe headphones with music? I’m assuming though you mean power outages are also frightening, and you didn’t directly say that.
I really like it when it rains in the summer, since where I live it’s typically so dry & hot. Rain sometimes makes it more humid, but at other times it does cool things off - at least temporarily. Unfortunately, it’s been extremely dry this summer & it’s barely rained
Oh my gosh. Yes, same here. Michigan had a drought period so bad every blade of grass within miles was brown and some of the grass in my yard even died. First time I experienced that. Crazy.
The louder the better!
The hot, humid Summers in Taiwan would end when cold air masses from mainland China would move south over the island, but Summer would not give up without a fight and that meant thunderstorms.
I lived on the top (fourth) floor in a Taipei apartment and it sounded like we were getting bombed. The whole building would shake, knocking things off of shelves. All you could do is laugh and laugh we did at the insanity of it all.
You knew the thunder was coming, but you were still startled by the sound.
I’m not scared of power outages. I find them a bit annoying, but not scary. Plus there’s the worry about how long they’ll be, and if the food in the fridge will still be okay, but I haven’t had many problems with that.
I understand your fear, but if you seek shelter and safety you will be OK. Presently we are are having a T-storm event move through, and enjoying the lightning show. Your chances of being zapped are pretty none to zero. Just don’t pitch your tent under a very tall tree.
My understanding is that it has less to do with the tires and more that the car acts like a Faraday cage.
What I’ve read is that the main thing to do is to stay low, and away from anything tall, and take shelter as soon as you can if you’re around a lightning storm. And, because of the above, a car counts as shelter.
I doubt you’ll be out hiking around, EmilyG, so you should be able to get to safety quickly.
I don’t know how helpful this will be, but one thing I do when I’m really scared is remind myself that being scared doesn’t actually help me be safer, and what will happen will happen. You can only do what you know you need to do. So, in this case, the shelter thing.