Years ago I witnessed something that changed how I think about lightening forever. Not sure what brought it to me tonight, but, I thought I'd share as I find it fascinating.
I was enjoying the rare occurrence of thunder and lightening here. The window wide open watching, listening, counting to work out the distance to the strike, etc.
I was rewarded by a very close strike of the church at the end of the street, less than 80 yards away. A single finger of lightening appeared, instantly, as they do, but it was hitting the middle of the tower, the ring of pillars and ornaments before the main spire on top. It didn't hit the top. The sounds was a harsh crackle. Which also made me aware I was watching the bolt and it was still there and I could hear it. Then another bolt appeared hitting the top of the tower and immediately a fan of fingers randomly probed around the whole spire before... finally happy with what it found BANG! A huge solid bolt of lightening lit up and it was all gone. That bolt appeared to me to go from the sky to the ground, through the tower. I left a burn on my retina which included where the tower was. The sounds was crack, crackle, crack, crackle, BANG!
I mean it was probably only half a second, maybe a second. But the first bolt not hitting the top of the tower completely voids that theory. The bolt not discharging instantly, but continuing to pulse on the same spot busts that other theory and the way it was joined by another, then the whole spire probed before finally the discharge too the bait ... reminds me much more of watching people making "arc art" and Electroboom playing with arc progression.
Electrically I "imagine" with 1"x0.5" lightening conductors running down all 4 sides of the tower the potential and impedance of all of those points is pretty much 0 so any point on them will do. The fingers spanning around the spire where the potential/charge along all those copper lightening conductors charging up which somehow created enough ionisation in the air around the spire to allow the full discharge current to jump? I'm way out of my depth though.
It's one of those things you wished you got on video. There "are" some nice videos of similar "probing, walking, sensing almost" lightening strikes that take seconds.