What causes lightning hit my tree — is it going to die, and is it safe to be under??
Tall, isolated, high-moisture trees in open ground get struck, as do trees near water, on high ground, and along fence lines and utility runs. Deeply furrowed bark that channels surface water — oak, tulip poplar, maple, pine, elm — conducts along the outside more readily, while smooth-barked species like beech shed rain and tend to conduct internally, which is the worse path. Central Indiana's thunderstorm season puts the risk from roughly May through September. This is chance and geometry; nothing about how the tree was cared for caused it.
What you'd see
A strip of bark blown off, usually spiraling down one side from the top toward the ground, sometimes with bark and wood thrown 50 feet or more across the yard and scorching at the edges of the exposed wood. Also look for a split trunk, blown-out soil or lifted turf at the base where the current exited through the roots, cracked limbs hanging in the canopy, and — several days later — leaves wilting and browning on one side while the rest of the tree looks untouched. Some strikes leave almost nothing visible: a thin line and a smell.
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