I used to live in tornado alley, so the fear of thunderstorms was constant from when I was little until we moved away. I think the thing that broke me out of it was driving past a tree just as it was struck by lightning, probablyabout 10m from the car. The sensation of the static just before it hit, then the flash, smell, and sound were unreal. A bit of thunder doesn't bother me so much anymore after that and we just don't get storms like that here (yet).