Kerpow! Booom! Here's a couple pictures of a tree struck by lightning. It's a good size black oak, about 14 inches in diameter. The lightning even blew a hole in the ground at the bottom, which it usually does for some reason. The spot in the woods that this tree is in gets hit by lightning quite often. Just off the top of my head, I can think of a half dozen times in the last few years. Right now there's no less than three trees in the same area surviving with lightning scars from previous years. The others that come to mind were either blown to smithereens or died shortly after. This latest victim is ripped up pretty bad, so may not survive.