Seriously, lightning is a big factor in turning the grass green this time of year. In fact, it's may even be more important than sunlight or warm temperatures! And with last night's storms, we're going to see some very green grass in the next few days. The over-abundance of cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning introduced a lot of natural fertilizer into the soil last night.
The atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, but plants can't necessarily use the nitrogen to grow.
The high energy from lightning bolts actually breaks nitrogen molecules apart in the air. The broken molecules are then fused with oxygen in the air. As the rain falls within the storm, these compounds are carried down to the ground and into the soil. These nitrates are Mother Nature's fertilizer which causes the plants to become rejuvenated.
If you want to impress your friends, the technical name for this process is "Nitrogen Fixation."
